


This Red Thread of Blood

by Hikaru_Uchida



Series: Thread of Blood [2]
Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Always Female Kiryuu Zero, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Kiryuu Zero, Blood Drinking, Cliffhangers, Cross Kaien is and idiot, F/M, How Do I Tag, Human/Vampire Relationship, Hurt Zero, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Manipulative Kaname, Mates, Multi, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Aido Hanabusa, Protective Takamiya Kaito, Royal Zero, Sweet Kaito, Tattoos, Temporary Amnesia, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unrequited Love, V-Shape relationship, Vampire Bites, Vampire Turning, Yuuki Bashing?, Zero keeps secrets, Zero knows all, self-sacrificing Kiryuu Zero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23580355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hikaru_Uchida/pseuds/Hikaru_Uchida
Summary: Kiryu Zero had many secrets. One was her struggle against her vampire side taking over her humanity. Another, her incorrigible attraction to her her sworn enemy, Kuran Kaname. And one she knows not of, hidden deep within her blood. She's more than what she knows to be and only time will show everyone who she's meant to be.“Who are you?” she asked, furring her brows together.“Just open the door and you’ll find out,” she said and the door appeared behind her.Zero looked at her before looking at her parents. She closed her eyes and nodded.With ever step she took, something deep inside started to bust to life. Something, no, everything was making sense and a black picture started to clear.One that she had always ignored.She looked at the door. Thinking and admiring. Then her hand moved.
Relationships: Aidou Hanabusa/Original Character, Kiryuu Zero/Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero/Takamiya Kaito, One-sided Cross Yuuki/Kuran Kaname, Takamiya Kaito/Kiryuu Zero/Kuran Kaname
Series: Thread of Blood [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696828
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	1. Zero

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Here's the next installment of Thread of Blood! As I stated previously, this is also posted on FF.net and I'm editing the work as I post it here. I will be re-posting the newer edited version there later. 
> 
> Please enjoy. 
> 
> Vampire Knight belongs to Hino Matsuri.

Blood is the essence of her existence to live.

Blood is the disgusting thing that pumped her heart and is too sweet to resist.

Blood is the red liquid that changed her.

Blood is her doom.

Blood is her hatred for all vampires.

Blood is her only way to stay sane.

Blood hates her since she cannot take just any blood.

She needs the red, dense liquid just like a human, but she needs it as a vampire as well. The sweet fragrance she hates to love; it intoxicates her to her core. The hate she has for it is no match for the love she has, the dilemma she gotten herself into.

All for blood.

Why? Why could she not just take those stupid tablets? Why couldn’t she just forget it? Why was she carving blood like a wild animal? She had no idea, but she could not care in the least. All she wanted was for it to stop.

Kiryu Zero was a troubled young woman. She was an ex-human, yet a vampire huntress, but she was a vampire. Zero sighed as she made her way to the moon dorm; it was almost time for the switch between the dorms and school for the vampires. She let the wind blow her short silver hair and heard the loud and deep cling from the metal doors. She stopped, hidden behind the crazy girls that had no idea who really walked down the path to school.

Her heart skipped a beat and she glared, her eyes landed on the tall brunet that made her life hell. Screams erupted all around and she rolled her eyes, Aido greeted the girls cheerfully and everyone pushed. Zero watched as Yuuki got pushed to the ground, she hurried to her side but Kaname was already there. Her heart clenched as she saw the gentleness directed at her adoptive sister’s way, and she glared more.

Yuuki was up and flushed; the vampire laughed as he too got up and exchanged a few words with her. He placed his hand on top of her head, “No need to worry,” she heard his smooth voice tell her. The silverette narrowed her eyes as she grabbed him by the wrist, she yanked his hand off and glared her best at him.

Kaname’s brown-red eyes met hard lavender orbs, he blinked as her smooth but hard voice said, “Class is starting… Kuran,” to him.

The brunet smiled as he jerked his hand away, “Scary, Prefect- _sama,_ ” he said as he walked off with the other vampires.

Zero narrowed her eyes as she saw him walk away, “I don’t care how much you suck up to Kuran, but remember the rules,” she said as she turned to look at the girl. She was seven inches taller than Yuuki, so she had to look down at her.

The brunette blushed, “I-I know! They’re different, you don’t have to tell me,” she pouted.

Zero nodded, she knew better than anyone how different they were, especially Kuran Kaname. They were not only vampires but nobles, and to top it all, Kaname was the only Pureblood there. She turned slowly with a deadly glare, “Brats! Get back to your dorm now! I can’t believe I have to listen to all of you scream every night!” she yelled at them. The other girls ran scared as those cold lavender eyes landed on them, and all escaped in seconds.

Yuuki hit her, “Always late! You’re as useless as ever!” she told her.

The silverette growled, “Looks who’s talking, getting pushed like a rag doll, shrimp,” she told her as her hand rested on top of the younger’s head to prevent her from hitting more. Yuuki blushed with anger.

“Who are you calling shrimp!” she yelled.

“Sorry, shorty, but have you look in the mirror lately?” she smirked down at her, the brunette growled and stuck out her tongue. She shook her head and started to make her way to the chairman’s office.

Zero glared at her foster father, “Once again, this is ridiculous!” she hissed, glaring at Cross Kaien.

“Zero-chan, calm down,” he told her.

The silverette glared more, “Stop calling me that! And how do you expect us to hold down all those damn girls with just the two of us, huh? Do you know how difficult it is with shorty here?” she asked, earning a ‘Hey!’ from Yuuki and a sigh from the chairman.

“I know it’s difficult, but you two are the only ones I trust to do this,” he stated. The light brunet smiled, “Plus, with the long and sleepless nights, no one would take the job. I know my two lovely daughters can do this and won’t let me down,” he finished before Zero hit the desk and cracked it, she looked at him from under her bangs, which made her even more of a deadly beauty.

“Since when did I become your daughter? I know you took care of me, but that never happened,” she growled.

Kaien shrugged, “Calm down, I know you’re obsessed with details, it’s such a pain,” he said lightly.

The huntress sighed, and looked at Yuuki, “Don’t you have something to say? You’re more his kid than I am,” she said, then she knew she had to go as the other girl rubbed the back of her neck bashfully.

“Well, as long as I can help, I’m happy! Plus, the night students are behaving,” she said and Zero turned around just as the ex-hunter started his rambling about education, balance and who knows what else.

“I’m going patrolling,” she said.

…

Zero walked to school with a distant gaze, the night breeze spread her scent all over, and she closed her eyes before looking up at the moon. Her mind went back to a tall, handsome, Pureblood vampire. She clenched her hands into fists and furrowed her brows with anger; she hated it because she couldn’t hate it or him. She tried and tried to fool herself, but it never worked. She could fool the world, she could fool Yuuki and she could fool the chairman, but she could not fool her heart, she could not lie to it.

The silverette was just glad that Kaname bought her hate game for him. Even if a Pureblood ruined her life, she could not hate Kaname even though he was one himself. She wished she could, but every time she looked into his eyes, she felt something burst into her heart. She didn’t know when or why, but she fell in love with the vampire. The girl shook her head and bit her lip hard, sinking her fang into her bottom lips and drawing blood. The girl hissed and quickly licked it away.

Kiryu glared at the ground as she finally reached the school grounds. She took a deep breath and went to her usual spot where she could gaze at him from afar, where he could not see her or know it was her. She would have to wait until Yuuki got there to allow freedom to her feelings for the vampire. Thankfully, a few minutes later, the brunette reached the roof and looked at Kaname dreamily. The pang in her heart was something she still hasn’t gotten used to, but she sighed and looked at the Pureblood.

Zero’s eyes soften drastically, a light and pureness reached the depths of her lavender eyes, and she freed her love to him for a few seconds. She watched him listen to the lecture calmly and worked easily. She loved the way he sighed and ran his hand through his wild brown hair, and then start to write something down. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them once more, they were hard and cold. She hopped off of the tree she was at, making it look like she just got there, and walked over to Yuuki slowly, taking a few more seconds than necessary, “I’ll go watch over the other side, don’t drool too much over the vampire,” she said and left before Yuuki could hit her.

She smirked and let her eyes soften just a bit for her, she waved once and left the rooftop. Zero walked around campus and found a few day-class female students trying to sneak in, but one glare from her, and they ran back their dorms. The silverette sighed and looked towards the building; she quickly looked away and ran to watch another class and see if anyone was out for the night.


	2. Kaname

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter!

Blood was something easy he could come around, something he could get whenever he wished.

Blood was an easy access to him, and he didn't care if it was real blood or tablets.

Blood was something he could not share with just anyone.

Blood was something that would tie a human to him if he wished such to happen.

Blood was part of his life, and it didn't bother him at all.

Kuran Kaname is a Pureblood that can also be called the prince of all vampires. He will be the next head of the Kuran clan, which has been on top of the vampires for ages, and he had no other living relatives besides his sleeping uncle. But because he was the only Pureblood from that family, he was to become -in a way- the next head of the vampire association and lead them to peace with the humans.

He sighed as he got ready to go out and start his 'day' for school. As he tied his tie, he wondered what Yuuki would do today, she was always so clumsy and easily a softy. Most of the girls never listened to her, which trailed his thoughts to a tall and beautiful silver head girl. Even though he hated her, she was of use; Kiryu Zero, that is. That girl was always getting in the way of Yuuki and him, something he didn't appreciate at all.

The hunter easily got on his nerves -the fact that she was turning to a Level E was something to add to her defects. She was too rude, and her being a D class vampire did no good with her reputation between his fellow vampires –though no one besides him knew of her problem. He shook his head as he walked out of his room with his books in hand, the white uniform fit him perfectly, his wild hair was as untamable as ever, and he walked slowly down the stairs.

Everyone turned to look at him and bowed; he nodded and headed to the entrance. Two vampires opened the doors for him, and the nobles followed after him. Aido was cheerful and full of energy like most nights, while his cousin was as bored as ever. The others were quiet as they followed behind him, they respectfully started to surround him to keep him from the girls reach, yet he stayed in front. A guard clicked the door opened and the double set of metal doors revealing a short brunette trying to stop a mob of crazy girls.

Kaname noted that the taller of the Prefects was late once more and his hatred grew a bit as Yuuki was thrown to the ground. He sighed and walked over to her, he offered her his hand with a kind smile. "Are you okay, Yuuki?" he asked, kneeling, "They're always so hard to keep in place," he told her as he watched her blush.

"Kaname-sempai!" she said, his name surprised. He smiled and held his hand out, she blinked surprised and shot up from the ground, "Ah, yes, I'm fine!" she told him as her cheeks flushed a bit more.

The Pureblood chuckled as he got up, "As formal as ever, it makes me kind of sad," he said, smiling.

Yuuki blinked, "Huh! Oh, no. It's because you saved my life that…" she trailed off.

The vampire nodded and placed a hand on top of her head, "No need to worry," he assured. Blinking surprised as a pale, small, and smooth hand grabbed his wrist. He looked away from Yuuki's warm brown eyes and into the hard and cold -not to mention guarded lavender- eyes of the beautiful silverette.

Zero glared at him, her big eyes sharpened, and her lovely pink lips hardened into a thin line. Her smooth high cheekbones made her look a bit dangerous and wild, her short silver hair was a bit messy, clearly from the wind moments ago. She opened her full lips, "Class is starting… Kuran," she said in her soft, musical voice. He had always asked why it was so pleasant even when it was as cold as it was, but he shrugged that off as he yanked his hand away and smiled.

He turned around and called over his shoulder, "Scary, Prefect- _sama_ ," he mocked lightly, he saw her eyes narrowed and her cheeks flush a bit. These were those few moments he enjoyed being a vampire, his sharp sight and hearing gave him a lot of openings to tease or annoy the girl. He turned around and walked among his classmates.

Two girls from the day class approached him shyly, "K-Kuran-sempai! C-could you accept t-this?" a girl said holding a rose up.

Kaname smiled as he took it, "Thank you," he said before the two girls ran off. He looked at the rose and watched as the life left the flower and nothing but a dry, discolored, dead flower rested in his hand. He raised the dehydrated flower to his face and smiled darkly before giving it to Seiren to dispose of it. The short hair vampire took it and went off on her own before coming back to his side. Soon, they reached the academy and they went to their classes while Aido talked animatedly to his cousin.

…

While in the middle to end of the third period, exactly at 11:45 pm, he felt eyes on him from the side of the window. He resisted the urge to look their way; it was always the same, for short periods of time he would feel the gaze before it disappeared completely. He had tried searching for it once, but the second he was about to look out, it vanished and left a cold feeling in his chest. So, from then on, he would let whoever it was looking at him as much as they could, as he enjoyed those eyes on him.

They were gentle and kind, full of affection, and dare he say love. It didn't bother him that much, but to not be able to see who has such feelings for him was unnerving. The pure emotion he felt was soothing for him in ways he could not explain. The unique gaze given his way gave him the peace he always had a hard time finding. He knew that it didn't belong to Yuuki, since she was there all the time, but it would never appear twice in one night.

He also knew that it was not Zero since she was always off somewhere else, and he knew she hated him with passion, just like he hated her. He looked at the clock and it soon would click to 11:48 pm and his magical gaze would disappear. As the seconds ticked by, he felt the gaze fade away and vanished completely, leaving him to nothing but a cold feeling deep within his heart. The heart he thought beat for Yuuki, yet these past days, he has begun to question that.

He sighed and turned around to look out the window; he just saw Yuuki blink surprised and turn away with a blush coloring her face. He shook his head and turned back to class. Those eyes were still boring into his mind as the lovely feeling tried to come back, but no matter how much he willed it, it always slipped from his hands. He bit the inside of his cheek lightly, to not draw any blood and kept his cool. For the rest of the school hours, he felt the admiring eyes of the brunette and sometimes the hard and cold eyes of Zero.

Whenever it was her watching, he tried to ignore it, but something in him made him pay attention to those gazes -glares. He was getting irritated by that and he closed his eyes whenever he felt them. Sadly, it backed fired when he could picture those lilac orbs staring at him, not even Yuuki could make him picture her that. He went as far as saying he loved the brunette, but he was never able to picture her so vividly in his mind like the silverette.

He wanted to let out a growl, but time was almost up, and he just had to wait half an hour to go back to the dorms. Thankfully, a few minutes later, Zero's eyes were gone and Yuuki's were back, a pang of uneasiness came to his chest and he blinked. Confused, he placed a hand on top of it and thought, _'What was that?'_ a bit shocked. He could feel the now concerned eyes of the Prefect and the alarmed eyes of his classmates.

Kaname shook his head and stood up as soon as class was over. The others followed him as he got out of the building and his eyes quickly searched for a tall, slender woman. He froze, stunned, making the others tense, his eyes landed on the bored and tired girl and the uneasy feeling that had settled on top of his chest vanished as she looked at him passively. He started to move and as he passed her, he caught the sweetest scent he had ever smelled, not even Yuuki's blood could compare to the girl’s.

He suppressed a moaned and kept walking, his hand holding his books tightly and his mind tried to memorize her smell, but it slipped. His shoulders tensed and worried started to form on the pit of his stomach. He turned back to see her careful eyes as she watched the night class, and he calmed down a bit. He looked at Yuuki and his heart remained the same. His eyes widened slightly in confusion. Turning his eyes back to the front, he suddenly felt lavender eyes on him, and he repressed a shudder.

The Pureblood closed his eyes, and he saw her looking at him when she looked away, she was gone from his mind. He opened his eyes and frowned, just what was going on with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaname is starting to get all confused!


	3. Confusion and Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so make things clear, I'm salty towards Yuuki. Hate really. But oh well, hope no one minds too much.

Zero hurried to the Day dorms as fast as she could, Kaname had actually looked her way and she had no idea what to think of that. She could say it could be a good thing, but it could also be a bad thing. She had felt his searching gaze for her instead of Yuuki, and she had felt wonderful. The way Kaname looked her way stirred the vampire inside of her, which is why she’s stumbling to her room after most of the vampires arrived at their dorm.

As she left the short brunette on task, she resisted the urge to find someone and bury her fangs in them. The hunger became greater every passing day and she hated it. The lust for blood had her on guard even as she tried to sleep. The pain of being a Prefect and a decreasing vampire was taking all her sweet sleep away. Every day was the same, but these past months have been more than difficult for her, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fight her vampire side for much longer, but she wanted to stay human for as long as possible.

She finally reached the dorm and she hurried to her room, at this moment she thanked the chairman for giving her privacy and letting her have a room to herself. She loosened her ribbon and unbuttoned the first three buttons of her white shirt. She leaned against the wall for support and tried to calm her labored breathing. She growled lightly and held her throat, hoping it would make the aching go away.

She hissed when the thirst became greater and her knees gave up on her. Zero groaned in pain as she slid down and shook, shutting her eyes tightly. Her body begged for the red substance, but she refused, her mind was _not_ going lose to the thirst, so she crawled to her bathroom. She moved on the floor with all her might and tried to think of something else, nothing to do with blood, red, or Kaname. She didn’t know why, but he was beginning to bring out the side she hated, and that’s one of the reasons she wanted to hate him with all her heart.

The silverette pushed the door open and went in slowly; she put her hands on the corner of the sink to pull herself in faster. Her leg kicked the door close and she gave a silent scream. Her fang grew slightly and her eyes glowed red. She pulled herself up and threw her clothes off of her as quickly as she could. Her body was on fire, and she had no idea why exactly. The huntress didn't even look at the mirror before turning the water on, jumping into the ice-cold shower.

Zero hissed and trembled, but her thirst was leaving her, and she relaxed as much as she could with the still freezing water. Her mind went from foggy to a white and calm state. A few more seconds and her hunger for blood was long gone, she turned on the hot water and moaned as her muscles finally relaxed. Her eyes were back to the lovely silver lilac color and her fangs were no more than her normal canines.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head up; the warm water ran down her hair, face and body. Her hair stuck to her pale tattooed neck while the rest of the water slid down her perfect figure. She was in top shape and was the hottest girl in campus, even more than Ruka. Her job as Vampire Huntress gave her quite a workout, and she was great at hand to hand combat. Even with her weapon in hand, she had to have enough strength to maintain Bloody Rose in the air for long enough to kill her target.

If she weren't as cold and solitary as she was, then boys would be at her feet whenever she walked down a hall. She sighed and started to shampoo her hair after closing the flow of the water as she washed her hair and then her body. She got the water going and rinsed the soap off. A few minutes later she was moving out of the shower and into her room. A pale purple nightgown hung loosely around her pale skin and she sighed. 

The silverette looked up at her ceiling as she dried her hair with the towel and wondered what morning would bring. She frowned before getting her schoolbooks and started to do her homework. It was easy to her since she was the top student and even though she slept in classes, her vampire fear kept her alert enough to listen and register everything the teaches said. Even with that, she was too tired to answer the teachers; she tried to get as much rest as possible with detention afterward.

Zero quickly finished her work and went to bed for the rest of the time she had left until school called.

...

Kaname watched Yuuki wave as the doors closed, he turned around and headed to his room to try and sort his confusion out with a shower or something. The other followed loyally behind him, but when the brunet stopped and turned to them, they knew they needed to leave him alone. Aido sulked while Kain started to talk to Ruka and tried to distract her from the other vampire.

The Pureblood went up the stairs ignoring the eyes watching him curiously. He walked down the hall to his room and quickly entered; he went in silently and loosened his tie in a swift move. He placed his books on his desk and took off his jacket. The vampire took off his shirt and threw it to a sofa as he walked to his bathroom.

After he showered, he dried his hair slowly with the towel as he thought about his lovely human. Yuuki was sweet and cute, not to forget that her blood had a wonderful scent. He loved it yet had to resist her blood every time he was near. Her voice calmed him, and her eyes made him feel appreciated. She was perfect for him, she was submitting and if he wished to change her, she would be a great mother to his kids and a supportive wife.

But that gaze he feels every night prohibits him from fully accepting that idea. It makes him feel like he was needed and that he could be loved, plus just thinking about Yuuki while having those eyes on him made him feel like a scum. Those lovely eyes told him that he was not only a Pureblood, but also a normal vampire and someone more than a leader and that he too needed some time to rest. The pure, silent message he always gets, it’s always saying 'I love you,' to him and he sought support in that anonymous gaze every night.

And with tonight’s weird event, Zero stirred something deep inside of him. Her lavender and lily scent became sweeter and stronger, yet he noticed that it only affected him alone. Her hard gaze awoke something in him; something protective, more so than his protectiveness for Yuuki. He had the impression that tonight she looked beautiful under the full moon. Her silver hair shone under its light, making it look looked like silk; while her pale skin looked so healthy and color was present across her cheeks.

Kaname sighed and ran this hand through his wet hair; he looked down at his chessboard and closed his eyes. Yuuki came to his mind, but then it was easily erased by the gaze he’s learned to loved, cherished and looked forward to. He relaxed and tensed as Zero came to his mind; the girl was smiling down at someone. Probably Yuuki, since it was a warm smile, but her eyes were guarded. He snapped his eyes opened and headed to his bed with an irritated feeling.

The Pureblood threw the comforter to the side and sat down as he let the towel hang loosely over his shoulders. Then stared at the ceiling, trying not to think, but the small, silver light from the moon made him do so. Images of the huntress came to his frustrated mind, her big lavender eyes glaring at him, looking at him, and gazing at Yuuki. He closed his eyes as he gripped his hair loosely in his hand, ' _Kuran,'_ he heard her soft voice call him.

He sighed, tossed the towel aside and fell back on his bed. He tried to fall asleep; he turned and toss in bed, but sleep did not come to him. He opened his eyes and glared, he got up and poured some water in a glass and dropped two Blood type A tablets. He waited for them to dissolve and then drank it slowly. He moved to stand in front of his window and open the curtain to gaze at the moving moon. Zero’s full-body image reflected on the moon and he watched silently, admiring her for the first time, even if it was only in his mind.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself in a whisper, closing his eyes.

…

The class was boring and had ended. The silverette woke up and looked at Yuuki who was whining about having to stay after school for detention. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her with a crooked brow as she rested her chin on her hand, “No! Zero’s so depressed that it’s contagious! She’s bad-tempered, too!” she snapped, irritated.

“Yuuki, I can hear you,” Zero said, passively.

The brunette turned around and made a face, “Why do you think I said it?” she asked her.

Zero sighed as the younger girl made a dramatic scene as Sayori left; she laughed and got ready for a long hour of detention. Yuuki turned to her and glared, “What?” the huntress asked, bored.

“Why am I always stuck with you?” she asked, pouting and sat down as the teacher came in.

The Kiryu shook her head, “Must be fate or something,” she said, looking away.

That sounded too right, especially for her ears; fate was what was happening every day of her school life. The fact that Kaname disliked her, Zero hiding her love for him, and he loving Yuuki was too ironic for her. She knew that the Pureblood liked Yuuki, and she also knew that he could turn her whenever he pleased and keep her sane with his blood. She looked at her with glazy eyes, she liked the girl, but sometimes she felt inferior to her. She wished she could be like her, oblivious from the real world and loved.

Every night, seeing the vampires walk the path to school, made her wish for one of the girls’ life instead of hers. She longed to be normal once more, but she was far too gone for that to happen. She closed her eyes and pain hit her hard this time around and looked out the window to try and hide her pain. She felt Yuuki’s eyes on her, but she ignored her completely, she knew the other could never understand, and she didn’t care.

The hour passed quickly, Yuuki hurried to do her duties as Prefect. Zero walked to the school’s stable. She walked in and slowly made her way to White Lily, she needed peace right now and she couldn’t find it anywhere but here. She knew that the night class would start soon, but she needed this time to calm herself. She didn’t know what would happen this time around with Kaname, and she didn’t want to do anything that she would later regret.

The girl brushed the horse for a bit before she headed back to the dorms when she got there; the other girls were screaming and pushing the brunette around. She sighed, “Hey!” making everyone turn to her, her eyes darkened and she glared, “Get back to your dorms this instant.” she said lowly, the doors opened and everyone turned to look at the night class. Zero slowly turned to them and her eyes landed on Kaname, she noticed that he looked irritated, and wonder why. Yuuki quickly started to try and get the girls under control, but they were stubborn. The huntress glared, “Hey! Get the hell out of here.” she told them, moving in front of them with her deadly glare. The girls tensed and backed away, some of them ran away while others tried to stand their ground.

“Hey, Kiryu. Try being a bit nicer!” Aido hissed, irritated.

“Why should I? If I go easy on them, I’ll be treated like Shorty over here and you would all be unable to make it to class on time,” she told him blankly.

The noble blinked and glared at her, Kain laughed but kept walking. Aido blushed and looked away, the silverette smirked and Kaname came into her view. Yuuki and the other human girls were too involved with arguing with one another to notice, but the night class did. The Pureblood glared at her coldly, she blinked and glared back. She ignored the hurt in her heart and pulled her mask tightly, her eyes hardened, and hate-filled them.

Kaname passed her, he gave her one last glare and looked to the front passively, “Good to know you can do something,” he whispered. Zero tensed and glared harder at him, she turned away at the same time he did and bit the inside of her cheek to ignore her pain.

She glared harder at the day girls and hissed, “Get back to the dorms, **now**.” Everyone looked at her, even some vampires, and they ran away. Ruka stared at her before she started to walk once more.

“Zero! You don’t have to be so rude!” Yuuki told her, looking at her mad. The taller girl turned to her and glared before turning, walking off, “Zero!” the brunette called surprised. She sighed, “Jeez, what happened now?” she asked herself and went to see how the night class was doing.

After Zero was far enough, she ran blindly, until she was by a fountain, she bit her lip before scowling and falling to her knees. Angry tears escaped her eyes, before she wiped them away, furiously, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” she bit out, hitting the ground before gripping her hair. She glared at the ground, “Why can’t I hate you?” she whispered painfully. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down; the way he had looked at her was new to her.

Yesterday he had been different, gentler she could say, but today he wore his hate for her in his sleeves. It hurt so much for him to look at her that way, but she could do nothing but take it. She hoped that she convinced whoever was watching them that she returned those feeling for him, the same hate he has for her, and hoped that no one was able to look behind her mask. She dropped her hands and one moved over to her chest, she tried to breathe evenly until she was sure she was under control once more.

She got up and looked at the fountain; she smiled sadly and dipped her fingers tips before slamming her hand down to erase the hurt girl she hated. She got up and walked away from the moment of weakness and looked forward. She was a Vampire Hunter, and she had been fighting the vampire side of her for four years, she would not be taken down by something like this. She would not be defeated by a love that’s not meant to be, and that will never be known.

She took her time walking to the school grounds, but when she got near enough, she could smell blood in the air. She narrowed her eyes and then cursed as she smelled Yuuki’s blood. She ran as fast as she could, when she got to the scene, her blood boiled.

“D-don’t! Aido-sempai, you know the rules,” Yuuki said, trying to get free from the grip of the noble.

Zero swung her gun to him in a smooth and quick motion, “Drinking blood on school grounds is strictly forbidden, letting lust dominate you… the mask has fallen, _vampire._ ”

Yuuki looked surprised, “Zero, don’t!” she ordered.

“But it was only a taste,” he stated. The Huntress glared and her index finger pressed down.

_BANG!_

“Idiot! Why did you shoot?” Yuuki asked, holding her hand up.

“Scar-y” Aido said, as the huntress’s glare bored into his eyes.

“What…the?” Kain gasped, looking at the shining figure in the air.

The Kiryu tensed, “It’s called ‘The Bloody Rose.’ You should be more careful, Aido,” Kaname said as he slowly walked to them. Zero glared at him trying to hide all of her emotions for him, “It’s made to kill us,” he stated, grabbing Aido by the collar, “I’ll take care of these fools; the Chairman will need a full report,” he said passively. He stared at the older girl, “Is that okay, Kiryu?” he asked calmly.

The girl stopped the flinched from appearing, “Zero…” she heard the other Prefect say.

“Just get them out of my sight, Kuran,” she told him, putting her weapon away and turning around.

“Kain, why didn’t you stop Aido? You’re as guilty as he is,” Kaname stated, while the other vampire blinked surprised. “Yuuki, about those girls,” he began.

“Ah! Don’t worry, the Chairman will modify their memories,” she told him lightly.

Nodding, the Pureblood smiled at her, “Alright, sorry for this once more,” he told her, Zero closed her eyes tightly, “I hope this didn’t remind you of bad memories, Yuuki.”

Zero untied her ribbon, “No, no. He didn’t hurt me,” Yuuki assured him. He nodded and they left. Zero grabbed her hand and tied her ribbon around Yuuki’s hand, “W-what?” she asked surprised but the other only worked quietly, “Zero,” she mumbled uncertainly.

“Let’s go, we still have to deal with these idiots,” she didn’t look at her.

…

Kaname dragged the ice user by the collar; tonight was not his night. First, as his eyes locked on the silverette he wanted to go to her and sink his fangs into her neck. He hated that, hated it very much. Second, his nightly gazes never showed up, and it had gotten him in a foul mood, worst than he already was. And third, this idiot dared drink blood from his precious Yuuki.

What he hated the most was that he didn’t care as much for Aido drinking Yuuki’s blood, compared to the gaze of love missing, it wasn’t even at par with that. His urge to taste Zero’s blood was even greater than the anger he felt for what just happened. He pushed the vampire forward, “What in the world were you thinking?” he asked, as he kept walking. Kain and Aido walked quickly in front, “Were you even thinking?” Aido flinched, “This only encourages Kiryu to treat you the way she does, if you give her more openings like this then you will have to learn to keep your mouth shut, _permanently,_ ” he told him. “As for you Kain, start to be more responsible and watch over this idiot,” he snapped as they reached the office. They nodded and Kaname knocked once, he opened the door and pushed the two in.

“Kaname-kun,” the chairman said surprised, “What happen?”

“Aido, Kain,” the Pureblood said sternly.

“We disobeyed orders,” both said and bowed.

“I’m sorry, I drank human blood while on school grounds,” Aido said.

Kaien sighed, “Who’s was it?” he asked tiredly.

“Yuuki Cross,” he replied.

The ex-vampire hunter sighed, “If no one got hurt, then ten-day suspension should be enough,” he said, “Good night.” he dismissed them.

Kaname nodded and motioned the two to move. “Go back to the dorm,” he ordered as he closed the door, Kaname turned to the light brunet, “How long are you planning on keeping her in the day class?” he asked seriously, “She’s been fighting her dark side for far too long, if she doesn’t start to drink the tables, she might hurt someone.”

“I know, I know. But Kiryu-chan is still in control, she can keep this up,” he assured the vampire.

Kuran glared, “If she hurts someone, I wil-” he was stopped by the serious face of the man.

“She is under my care and she is still a huntress. A Kiryu. If you lay a finger on her, you’ll be in trouble,” he warned.

The student narrowed his eyes, “Just remember, a Pureblood like me bit her. Kiryu Zero won’t be able to sustain her human self for much longer,” he told him.

Kaien nodded, “You don’t have to remind me. “

“Alright, good night.”

The headmaster sighed, “I know that better than anyone,” he said to the empty room.

Kaname took a quick shower before meeting with the two vampires, “I can’t believe I got a ten-day suspension!” Aido whined, but then looked dreamily. “Yuuki’s blood was so worth it! I think living off of those tablets will no longer be enough. Her blood was so deli-” he was unable to finish his sentence as Kaname hit him across the face.

“Pardon?” he asked, glaring at him, the blond looked down dejected.

“Sorry,” he said silently.

The Prince licked his fingers and left the room, going to his to cool off.

…

Zero walked into the bathroom, calmly as Yuuki dried her hair, “What are you doing here?” Yuuki asked, turning to her.

“Taking a shower, what else?” she stated blankly as she took off her shirt.

“Hey! Wait until I’m done,” the brunette said.

“But I want to get some sleep,” the hunter told her with a sighed. Yuuki glared but was unable to admire that smooth and pale skin. The well-curved body and the bust she didn’t have. Zero looked at her, “If you’re done watching me, go dry your hair in your room,” she told her with a smirk.

Yuuki blushed, “Shut it!” she snapped before starting the blow-dryer once more.

The sweet scent reached Zero’s senses and she tensed, “Get out, I need to shower,” she turned around and started to remove her socks as she held her breath.

Yuuki glared at her, “Fine!” and left the room.

The silverette sighed and quickly stripped from her clothes before hopping into the shower. She growled and started to wash up.

Once out, she went to her room and went to sleep to tried and forget the nights’ event.


	4. First Phase Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero's time to become a vampire has arrived. It's time to deal with it no matter what. But no one said she'd have to do it by herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since this is technically a re-write of the actual manga I will be using certain quotes and scenes from it.

Two weeks had finally gone by, and Valentine had finally arrived. Girls were crazy over it, and guys were depressed, they knew all chocolates would to the night class, and they long since resigned on getting one.

Zero sighed as HomeEd class was used to make chocolates, she really didn't want to be here, but it would give her an excuse somehow. Yuuki was cheerfully talking with the short hair light brunette, and she minded her own business. She was in the middle of shaping her chocolate into different figures, whenever they were turning it to hearts, she would slam her hand down and destroy them. Her partners would flinch as she glared at them, but didn't dare look her way.

The silverette was irritated, so she voted by making chocolate balls filled with soft caramel, and others with liquidity cherry. She was then ready to put them in the fridge to harden and keep their shape fully. As everyone else concentrated on not messing up, she grabbed the rest of her chocolate and gave up. She let her hands work on their own and let her feelings pour to the forming heart. It may be small, just the size of Yuuki's palm, but it was perfect for her.

The light brown chocolate heart-shaped was ready to harden, she put it on the freezer and waited 2 minutes. She got it out and started to decorate it with white chocolate and a few other little details. When it was ready, she put it back in the freezer and looked at her others; they seemed eager, so she took them out and looked over them. Satisfied with her work, she started to wrap them in a silver and white wrapper and tied it with a red ribbon.

Her table teammates glanced at her half-done work and gasped, "Oh my god! Zero, you’re so good!" a girl told her, looking at the wrapped balls and the unwrapped ones. If the other two were as perfectly shaped as these two than they were more than jealous.

The silverette blinked, "Huh?" she said, but then other girls were moving to see her work. Zero sighed and looked at the time, she blinked and hurried to the fridge; she took out her last chocolate and sighed. The heart was smooth and seemed that it would take a good bite to crack.

The girls looked at her, and then at the last chocolate, they gasped in unison as they bit their lips not to glare. The chocolate was simply beautiful; it almost seemed like the ones you buy at a store for only this day. She put the plastic plate and grabbed the heart, she had grabbed a square box on her way back, and she was ignoring the others as she finished wrapping the last two balls before turning back to the heart.

Yuuki was curious about the full table, she knew Zero was in there, and she wondered why she wasn't yelling. She walked over to the table and watched as she finished tying the red string about a small ball. She saw three more and looked at the calm and beautiful face of her adoptive older sister, her eyes then looked down, and she saw the heart. She held her breath as she examined it, the perfect shape heart, the white swirls on top, and the few drops of white chocolate with a piece of nut.

Pale hands grabbed the chocolate and placed it on the box; she had placed the soft red paper in it, making the heart stand out. Slowly, Zero put the lid on and sealed the box. She grabbed a blood-red wrapper and covered the white box elegantly, sticking everything in place, and she took out a white thread. The huntress tied it around the square box, and lastly, she put a dark electric blue ribbon on top of the white knot. She looked at it with a calculative eye and sighed; she shook her head and placed the box on the table.

She grabbed the four other chocolates and started to put finishing touches, forgetting entirely about the heart. Every girl looked at her passive face, "So who's that for?" a girl at her table asked, Zero looked at her with an 'are-you-an-idiot' look.

Sighing, she said, "No one, I just had some chocolate left," she said, putting her work down and started to clean up her side of the table.

"Come on, Zero! You're planning on giving it to someone. You wouldn’t have made it so pretty if you hadn't," Yuuki voiced. She was by her side now, "I'm just glad to know you're like a normal girl!" she told her cheerfully.

The silverette looked at her blankly, "I made it for no one, now you better go back to your station if you don't want the chocolate for your _hero_ to be unfinished," she told her blankly.

With a blinked, a blushed and glared, Yuuki said, "You don't have to be so rude about it! I only wanted to know whose it is for," she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I already said it was for no one," Kiryu said and went to the sink to wash the things she used. Yuuki glared at her back and turned around before going back to her table as the other girls looked at the chocolate box before going away. Zero glanced back and sighed tiredly, she just made that to get it out of her system and not to regret not making something, but she would not give that to _him_. When she was done, she went back to her table and waited for everyone else to finish with their chocolates.

After the class was over, Zero quickly went to the chairman’s office and froze as she opened the door. Kaien smiled at her, “Kiryu-chan! What are you doing here?” he asked, getting up from his chair and rushed to her. He hugged her, but she just stared at the light brown eyes, pale face and ashy-chocolate brown hair.

“Long time no see, Zero,” a masculine voice said, her eyes widened and she leaned on the ex-hunter for support.

“Kai… Kaito?” she asked and started to walk over to him.

The young man got up, his cold eyes softened and he held his had up. Instead of taking it, the silverette wrapped her arms around the man and held him tightly; the other exhaled and hugged her back. The headmaster sighed and closed the door; he went back to his spot behind the desk and waited for them to get over their little moment.

The girl pulled away and smiled a bit, “Hey,” she greeted, the brunet chuckled and patted her head.

“How are you?” he asked and she looked away.

He frowned and pulled her to his chest, “You’re strong,” he told her calmly. Zero’s eyes widened and she gasped, she looked up at him and saw him smiling kindly at her, she bit her lip and rested her head on his chest. The heartbeat was calming for once; she didn’t have to be on guard since she was in control, and she knew he would stop her if something happened.

After minutes of silent encouragement, she pulled away and looked at her foster father, “I brought you these,” she told him, handing him the cherry-filled chocolates. Kaien instantly cried and rushed to hug her; the huntress sighed and for once let him hug her as he pleased.

“Oh, my wonderful daughter! Thank you so much,” he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek on top of her head, a second later he was hitting the wall.

“Daughter who?” the day student asked, holding a fist up.

The man looked at Kaito, “See what I’ve been telling you! She hates me. She doesn’t accept the love I give her,” he told the young hunter. The Kiryu glared at him and a dark aura spread around her.

“What the hell are you say this time?” she asked lowly, and so, Kaito laughed lightly. Zero turned to him and glared, “What are you laughing about!” she questioned and pouted. Kaito smiled at her and shook his head.

“I just missed you,” he confessed softly.

The girl blinked and nodded with a smile of her own, “I better get going, the girls must be going to the moon dorm by now,” she said, getting her Prefect armband from her jacket. The hunter looked at her.

“I’ll go with you,”’ he told her, moving to the door.

“Don’t you have something to talk with the chairman?” she questioned.

“I already did. I was on my way to find you, really,” he shrugged and nodded to the man.

Kaito opened the door for her and he followed her, her lilac eyes hardened slightly and they kept going. He noticed that the closer they got to the dorm, the tenser she got and he didn’t like that at all. They saw a girl about to fall and they rushed to her aid, he caught her and put her down just as Zero started to glare, “How many times do I have to tell you! The night class does not leave their dorms until dusk.” Zero looked around the mob of girls, “Come back at that time; we’ll have everything ready,” she hissed irritated.

Yuuki hopped down from the wall after the others ran for their lives, “Zero! Do you always have to be so rude?” she asked, hitting her on the back of the head.

The silverette glared at her, “If I weren’t, they wouldn’t listen,” she snapped and turned around. That was when the adopted Cross saw the man next to her, she blinked at his narrowed eyes looking at her coldly and blushed, embarrassed.

“H-hello, I’m Cross Yuuki,” she bowed and looked at the girl.

The man nodded and turned to his old friend, “Let’s go. I have a few things to talk to you about,” he told her and started to walk, the girl sighed.

“Later, Yuuki,” she mumbled following after the hunter. She followed him until they were in the stable; he looked at her and came close to her. She closed her eyes as he caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead.

“I’m here for your change…” he told her slowly.

Zero tensed and backed away, wide-eyed, “What?” she asked, stunned.

“Kaien-san told me all about your problem with the tablets when you feel that the last straw will break, find me, and bite me,” he told her, “I won’t let an innocent be your first victim.” Pulling her close, he whispered against her ear, “I also want to be there to comfort you,” and kissed her cheek softly. Zero closed her eyes tightly and breath in with her mouth, she felt his sweet scent and her throat hurt.

“I’m here for you,” he promised and hugged her tightly, he didn’t want her to suffer for this urge to take blood. He didn’t want her to hurt because of those vampires. He buried his nose in her silver locks and smelled the soft lily scent. His lips twitched, Lily was a perfect definition of her, at least all but the Day and Yellow Lily. He held her for a few more seconds as he memorized her warmth and her natural perfume. 

Kaito let her go, petted her head and walk to a brown horse, "Wanna race?" he asked with a smirk.

Zero shook her head, "Only if you can get Lily to let you feed her some sugar," she told him, pointing her chin to the white horse. The brunet blinked and walked over to the untamable horse, first he reached a hand to pet her, but Lily backed away while neighing loudly and settled by glaring at him.

Zero laughed at the surprised face of her childhood friend; she walked over to her and reached for her as she walked into her compartment. Lily snorted as she stomped on her spot and calmed down as the pale hand touched her neck and her left cheek. The silverette pulled the horse's face down and rested her forehead on the free cheek of the horse. "Shh, it's okay," she whispered closing her eyes as she brushed her hand down her neck and into her back slowly.

The man stopped breathing, she looked so beautiful against that horse, yet she seemed so lonely and hurt. He watched as her eyes opened and gentleness and kindness shone in them. Those same eyes he used to gaze every day back when they were training together. The soft lavender eyes gazed at the horse with a faint smile, "Good girl," she said and gave her a treat. Kaito gulped and looked down; he wanted this Zero back, but with no pain. He just wanted back the girl that was gentle to her little sister and didn't back down as he teased them.

He closed his eyes, _'Kaito!'_ , he heard her light voice from all those years ago call him. "Kaito," the soft, musical voice snapped him from his memory; he looked at her surprised.

"Yeah?" he asked her, shoving his hands into his pockets and crooked a brow.

"Can you come with me to patrol tonight..." she asked quietly, he looked and her and realized that she was paler than before.

"Sure."

Zero looked at him and smiled, relieved, "Thank you," she said before turning back to Lily and started the brush her. Kaito watched her quietly; he wondered if she was finally at her limit and couldn't keep her dark side in check.

An hour later, he saw her pull out a white armband and slipped it onto her left arm. She looked at him seriously, "Let's go," she said and moved to the exit of the stable. The senor hunter followed her quietly until they reached the school grounds minutes later. He watched as her shoulders tensed and her back straightened more, her walk was light and her right hand twitched slightly. He was about to tell her to relax, but the screams in the air stopped him from doing so.

Zero scowled as she glared at the girls lined up to give their crush the chocolates they made. She saw Yuuki try to calm them down and sighed, she reached inside her jacket and pulled another white band. She tossed it at the hunter without looking, "You'll help today, put that on unless you want to cause problems with these bloodsuckers," she said loud enough for him to hear. He sighed but put it around his arm just like she did and walked next to her as the doors opened; he got there just in time to hear the final directions for the day.

"Alright! Everyone line up," the girl he saw in the afternoon told them as Zero glared and everyone did. The night class came out and he could feel sparks fly between them, and the girl next to him. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed that she was trying her best to look bored, angry, and indifferent. But he knew she was not feeling that at all, her shoulders were too tense, telling him she didn't want to be there. Her eyes were hard as she looked at one vampire in specific; he knew that was who she was hiding from.

Lastly, her tight fist told him she wanted to do something about the girls that were giving and taking that vampire's attention. He shook that thought off and settled for her wanting to keep the girls away from the vampire. She walked forward and silently told him to follow after her, she sighed and pulled a vampire away from a girl, "You know the rules," she hissed as she pushed him forward. The vampire glared at her but walked along with his retreating classmates and he purposely bumped into her. Zero eyes widened as she tried to regain her balance.

The elder Hunter rushed to her as he glared at him, he had noticed that she had gotten paler, but ignored it. He placed a hand on her shoulder and the other raised her head to see her eyes. She was alarmed and scared, "It's okay, you're going to be fine," he told her seriously. His eyes assured her of her strength to do so, and she looked down, nodding. She froze and the little color she had vanished from her face as her lilac eyes landed on the beautiful and elegant chocolate box. Kaito blinked alarmed and look down as she paled, he furrowed his brows in confusion as he saw the small box that was on the floor.

Kaname had been looking at her since he came out and wondered who that guy was. He had silently watched as his classmate was given chocolates and he had gotten the urge to walk over to her after that lowly vampire almost pushed her down. The President of the night-class tensed at the gentle way the man touched and looked at her. He had seen red and froze the second she looked at him relieved. The Pureblood looked down after she had turned white and he was confused.

A blood-red box with a white string and blue ribbon lay on the ground innocently. Kaname looked back up and saw the fear in her eyes as she bent down to grab it, but froze as a foot landed on the elaborated box. He looked up to see Ruka looking down blankly at it and then turned to the Prefect. Zero didn't look up; she only stared wide-eyed at the destroyed chocolate, her hand still reaching for it. Some girls gasped at the scene, and he noticed that they were Yuuki's classmates as well as the silverette's.

The Kiryu heart stopped as the foot retreated, "Sorry, I never knew you would do something like this," the light brunette said and walked away.

Zero closed her eyes as she grabbed the box and straightened up when she opened them to look at it, they were completely blank. The ribbon was only holding over the wrapper and the white string had fallen. The red paper was wrinkly and dirty. It is evident that she had kept it safely by her side. Kaname watched as she opened it to reveal a broken heart and his heart skipped a beat.

Some girls ran to her and looked horrified at it, "Oh Kiryu-san, you had done such a great job!" one of them told her. He walked over to her slowly and looked at the ruined chocolate, it seemed that it had been perfect and the decoration had been beautiful. He frowned and felt regret for the destroyed piece of work. He would have gladly eaten something like that. He stopped and shook his head before walking to her; the silverette looked up and glared at him with rage.

Zero had smelled the scent of Kaname before he reached her, but she didn't want him to see her weakness, she looked up at the passive face of the man and glared hard. She directed all her anger towards the vampire responsible for it, to him and looked away. Kaname sighed, "I'll talk to her about this, and I’m sorry for your chocolate," he said and narrowed his eyes a bit as the man next to her pulled her to his chest and glared at him.

"Shouldn't you be going?" Kaito asked icily, the Pureblood glared and walked away. The other girls looked sadly at it before telling her not to worry and that she still had those other ones.

The girl nodded, she slipped away from her friend and went to where Yuuki was. She heard a 'wah' and rushed to the brunette on the floor, she sighed and helped her up noticing her box on the ground. She closed her eyes and grabbed it, "Kuran! You dropped one," she yelled before throwing it to him. Kaname caught it and looked at the searching girl next to her; he looked down at it and closed his eyes.

"I accept," he smiled and turned around.

Zero turned to Kaito and took out the two chocolate balls; she didn't notice the maroon eyes looking her way. She walked up to Kaito and smiled, "For you," she handed him the two silver balls. Kaname narrowed his eyes and fisted his hand, accidentally crushing Yuuki's chocolate, and watched as the visitor smiled, holding the two chocolates gently and leaned down to kiss her head.

"Thank you, Ze-chan," he said, backing away before a blushing girl could hit him.

The Pureblood's hand tightened and that's when he noticed the completely crushed chocolate and sighed. Seiren came to him and held her hands up, he placed all of the chocolates in her hands and walked up to Ruka. She looked up startled and looked at her coldly, "Why did you do that?" he asked her lowly.

They were walking into the school as he asked her this, "I...I'm sorry, I let my hatred for her show," she said, stopping and bowing to him.

When she raised her head she felt a gentle hand on her cheek, "Foolish actions lead to foolish things. Next time remember who you are before acting, take responsibility," he told her coldly. His eyes telling her just how angry he was and walked to class. Kain sighed and patted her head, he placed his hand on her back and made her walk next to him.

Kaname was irritated not only because of Ruka but because of Zero. He had noted that she would soon be turning, and he was getting worried, though he’s not sure if he’s concerned for her or Yuuki. He closed his eyes and waited to see if today would be a good night for him, in the last two weeks he had only felt the pleasant and soothing gaze four times and it was unnerving to him. He wanted to feel those eyes on him once more, but he could never find them.

Ever since the day he accepted them, he had been silently searching for that look but he could never find it. Whoever the person was, they didn’t want him to find them one reason or another. He was now yearning for those wonderful eyes, and little by little he forgot about the little girl he had saved on one of his visits to the chairman all those years ago. His heart was letting go of Yuuki and he wasn’t even sure why that was happening. All he knew was that he might not love her the way he thought he did.

He sighed and looked at the clock at 6 o’clock and still five hours, almost six to go and find out is if she would show up or not. Seven hours until school ended, and another thirty hours to hope she will appear next time. He settled to half-listening to the teacher and wondered about the new person he had seen with the silver head was, especially when they seemed so close. It also bothered him that she had given him chocolates, and he was jealous of the person who she was going to give that chocolate heart to.

…

Yuuki had turned around for a second, and the next, both the mysterious guy and Zero were gone.

Kaito ran after Zero, she had suddenly rushed to the school and he got worried by her pale skin. “Zero!” he called and she stopped, he sighed and reached her. He barely got time to grab her before she fell, he looked at her and for a second felt his heart skip a beat. Her flush face, her harsh pants and the gentle sweat running down her forehead; he snapped out of his thoughts as she moaned and trembled. He looked at her and carried her in his arms; he walked quickly to the headmaster’s office and passed the girl he had saved.

She was frozen as she saw Zero look like she was in extreme pain, she watched them go and then looked at the chocolates in her hands. Kaito looked down at the girl and bit his lip at the labored pants she was giving, her silver hair was now stuck in her lovely face and her cheeks were rosy. If he didn’t know better, he would have guessed that she had a high fever and it was serious. When he got to the office, he opened the door easily and shut it with his foot after going in.

Kaien got up alarmed and rushed to the girl; he placed his hand on top of her head and sighed, “She will change soon,” he said grimly. The silverette whined and snuggled against the hunter more, he sighed and sat down as he rocked her lightly.

“Is there nothing I can do?” he asked lowly.

“When the time comes, you will,” the older of them told him softly. “She needs a tablet,” he sighed and went to his drawer, he got out a tablet and filled a glass of water up. “We can recognize vampires for their carving for blood, longevity, and nocturnal behavior,” he began putting the pot of water down, “not only are they extremely proud, but they have superior mental and physical capacity,” he said and turned to her. “Well, Zero?” he asked her. Zero looked up and saw the man holding both things to her, “You can keep on ignoring and fighting it, but that changes nothing. Don’t keep this up,” he told her softly, giving her the tablet.

She shuddered and gasped, her hold on her friend tightened and Kaien frowned, “If you drink this, the pain will go away,” Kaien told her, she breathed heavily and glared at the glass. Her hand slammed against it and it fell to the ground, breaking into pieces.

“No,” her voice was raspy but firm.

“Zero, you know it will only get worse. The fits have gotten stronger already and you won’t be able to resist it any longer,” the chairman insisted, but she only shook her head. He sighed and patted her head, “Get some rest,” he nodded to Kaito.

Kaito got up and headed to the Cross home; minutes of silence passed before he opened his mouth, “Take a bath, I’ll be back in an hour,” he said putting her down in front of the door and sighing. She didn’t look at him, so he tilted her head up and kissed her forehead, “Zero, don’t think you’re not strong because you’ve already endured four years. It’s more than what anyone would have been able to hold, it’s alright if you give in now,” he said and left.

Zero watched him go before going inside and wash up.

…

When Kaito came back, he opened the door after a knock and waited a minute before going in. He found the girl in a corner staring off into space a few blood tables around her, he knelt in front of her and sighed, “If you don’t dry that hair of yours, you’ll get sick,” he scolded lightly, taking the towel from her shoulders and rubbing it over her hair. He tried not to look at her silk pajamas or the fact that they were lavender shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt. He sighed and caressed her cheek lightly, “Come on,” he mumbled, smiling at her.

The door opened, and he looked up from the corner of his eyes, “Zero!” Yuuki called before rushing to the older girl, she didn’t look at her and didn’t say anything. The brunette furrowed her brows.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” Kaito told her as he moved his arms under her knees and back. He easily lifted her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Kai… stay with me tonight,” Zero whispered, he nodded and left the room without another word.

They soon were in front of Zero’s room, and he quickly opened the door. When they were in, he put her down in bed and put her under the covers. She reached to him as she moved over, “Don’t leave.” she whispered, scared.

He looked at her and sighed, “I’ll go change, it will take no more than five minutes,” he promised before leaving and coming back in sweatpants and a plain black T-shirt. He looked at her before slipping in bed with her, she snuggled close to him and closed her eyes.

He watched as she slowly drifted to dreamland, he sighed and brushed some strands of hair out of her pale face. He leaned in and kissed the corner of her lips lightly, “I’ll stay with you,” he whispered before bringing her close to his body and sharing his warmth.

She sighed, “Kana…me” she murmured before a soft, lonely tear escaped her closed eye, Kaito blinked and furrowed his brows together in confusion and worried, he wiped the tear before holding her tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lilies that Zero is:  
> General - Purity   
> Calla - Beauty  
> Eucharis- Maidenly charms:  
> Orange- Hatred  
> Tiger - Wealth; pride  
> White - Virginity; purity; majesty; it's heavenly to be with you  
> Lily of the valley - sweetness; return to happiness; humility; perfect purity  
> Lilies Zero is not:  
> Yellow - I'm walking on air; false   
> Day - Coquetry


	5. First Phase Part 2

Kaname closed his eyes, it was almost time, but all he felt was Yuuki’s brown eyes on him. He could feel no other, and this time he was starting to get worried, worried about this stranger that had been taking bits of his mind and unconsciously his heart. He looked out the window when he no longer felt Yuuki’s eyes on him; he saw the same guy from before coming her way and say something to her. Yuuki’s worried face told him it had something to do with the other Prefect; he had noticed her change in behavior. 

Zero was about to break, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Kiryu was Yuuki’s shield, and he could not lose her, he didn’t want to lose her at all. These past two weeks, he had accepted that he didn’t hate her so much, but he didn’t wholly dislike her. It was between hate and dislike, but he felt a bit frustrated about it since he was starting to care for his enemy. He watched as the girl looked down and nodded, biting her lip.

The Pureblood frown as the man left and turned back to class and started to think. Zero had given that man chocolates, and she seemed to be entirely at ease with him. She was also acting differently with him and even blushed for him. He glared at the textbook he was looking at, and his jaw tightened; he also wanted to know if that heart was initially for that man, or someone else. The vampire sighed and waited for the period to be over, then only one more to go.

When they finally were set free, Yuuki was the only one waiting for them, “Kaname-sempai, good night,” she said blushing.

He nodded, “Good night, Yuuki. What happened to Kiryu?” he asked, hoping it didn’t look too weird for others as he asked for the silver head Prefect. The brunette blinked, surprised, and looked down.

“She wasn’t feeling so well. Went to bed early,” she answered, concerned.

The vampire nodded and frowned; it was defiantly because her change was near. He smiled at the Prefect and walked into his dorm, followed by the other vampires. He headed to his study his best friend, Ichijo Takuma, right behind him as they entered the room. He took off his jacket and vest as well as his tie, the Pureblood unbuttoned the three top buttons and sat down with a sigh, “Why the concern for the Prefect?” Ichijo asked, taking his jacket off.

Kaname looked at him as he reached for the jar with water and poured it in a glass, “Curiosity,” he said. After the blond was comfortable in his uniform, he grabbed a book from the shelf and flipped it opened.

“Does it have to do why that Prefect was looking really off-color?” he asked as the Pureblood dropped a blood tablet in the water.

“It was bound to happen,” he replied, calmly.

“Huh? What’s that suppose to mean?” Ichijo asked, looking up from the book.

“Nothing really, just that the consequences of that night four years ago are finally coming to the surface,” he said and frowned slightly before taking a sip from the blood.

His friend tilted his head, “What consequences?” he asked, frowning.

“That night changed her life,” was all he said and sighed. “Have you noticed anything different from her?” he inquired.

“No, not at all,” the blond said, confused.

The brunet nodded, “I wonder…” he trailed off, looking out the window.

Ichijo put the book down and walked over to this friend, “Kaname, are you okay?” he asked, worriedly.

“Hmm, yes. Why wouldn’t I?” he asked calmly.

The noble narrowed his eyes, “You’ve been acting differently these past two weeks. Yuuki is no longer your concern, and now it’s been turned to Kiryu? How is that okay for you?” he questioned.

Kaname’s eyes widened, “It’s nothing, it’s just that something will come her way soon. I am looking out for Yuuki, I don’t want her to get hurt because of her,” he clarified, sighing.

Truthfully, he didn’t know himself. Kaname didn’t lie when he said he was doing it for Yuuki, but was also looking out for Zero even if he didn’t want to accept it. He sighed and got up after he finished his drink, “I’m going to bed,” he stated before heading to his room. He was going to talk to the chairman tomorrow, and he would need to have some sleep. It was time for her to join the Night Class whether she wanted or not.

He knew that she would be seen as nothing more than a Level D vampire, but she needed to be in with him. It would ruin everything if she were to slash out in class one of these days. He had worked far too long for the peace between vampires and humans to reach this strong point, and he wouldn't let it be ruined by her. He may care a bit for her, but his plan was more important to him than her. He sighed and entered his room; he quickly took a shower and went to bed.

…

_“Zero, wake up."_

_A smoothing feminine voice said as a warm hand ran through her long silver hair. The young girl groaned and snuggled into a ball, her head getting comfortable on the lap it was resting, "Come on, Zero," the gentle voice said one more. Lilac eyes blinked lazily, she looked up confused and rubbed her eyes with a warm hand, she yawned tiredly and_ _stared into bloody red eyes, her eyes widened, and she snapped fully out of sleep._

_She sat up and backed away, she looked around, but everything was covered in blood. The soft yellow walls were crimson with sprays of red liquid. The floor had pools of blood, and struggles were imprinted on them. The blood was slowly spreading to the small carpet and closer to her. Her hand came to her mouth with horror; she looked at the woman sitting in the middle of it all calmly._

_"Zero, come here," the same soothing voice order lightly, the girl took a step back, but the woman was up and taking slow steps towards her. Zero tensed and froze as the vampire caressed her cheek softly, "Beautiful," she whispered before wrapping her arms around the small body and bringing her towards her. Sharp fangs pierced her neck, and her eyes widened, horrified. The pain was minimum, but the feeling of being drained from something was strange and scary. A second later, she screamed shortly before the vampire let her go and wiped her mouth, "Just as I expected," she said with a kind smile._

_The vampire sighed as the little girl fell, trembling, "Zero, do not fear me. All you have to fear are these disgusting humans," she told her, kneeling with red eyes glowing more than before. The girl tried to get away, but she couldn’t move. Those glowing eyes and gentle smile trapped her._

_"D-don’t c-come," she said, flinching as the woman put her warm hand gently on top of her head. The vampire looked at her with fascinated orbs, she was giving her an invisible smile, and her pale skin glowed softly under the moon's lit room._

_"Zero, soon you will change," she told her, the little girl gasped and shook her head._

_"N-no…" she shuttered, glancing at her parents. She noticed that her sister was nowhere to be seen, and she hoped that she was safe somewhere._

_Her eyes looked back at the woman, "They killed all my precious family, and this is my revenge. A justice only a Pureblood can make," she cupped her face in her hands. "Learn this now, my child," she said gently, giving her a tender kiss on her forehead. The woman backed away slowly, letting her body down slowly and gently._

_"Zero?" a confused voice said._

_The Kiryu snapped her head to the right, where the same shade of lavender orbs met and stared at each other for a full second. The vampire had a soft smile adorning her perfect lips as she turned to the side. Zero's eyes widened, and her blood froze, "Run! Ichiru, run!" she yelled as she turned slightly to see her twin better. The other looked surprised at all the blood in the room, "Get away! Now, run! Ichiru, RUN!" the older of the two yelled with tears. Strength was leaving her, and her eyes felt heavy, the back of the woman blocked the vision of her sister, and she cursed as darkness invaded her mind._

" _No_!" Zero sat up with labored breathing and cold sweat all over her body; she panted and tried to calm her racing heart.

The door to her bathroom slammed open, "Zero! What's wrong?" Kaito asked, worried, he was only wearing sweats that hung loosely by his hips, the toned torso was shining slightly. When the girl saw him, she knew he showered; his hair was still soaked and dripping from the ends. The silverette looked at him wide-eyed, she didn't know if it was because of the nightmare, or because of her sexy friend dripping wet.

The fear racing her heart won against the wanting to appear blush. Without a second thought, she got up, ran to Kaito, and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. The hunter blinked and sighed, he wrapped his arms around her and held her trembling figure gently and securely. She sighed shakily and rested her head against his bare chest as her hands gripped his shoulders. The man frowned, "You want to talk about it?" he asked softly, not wanting to upset her more than she already was.

Zero shook her head slowly; her eyes were tightly shut as she let the warm body comfort her in ways only he used to do when younger. The girl took a deep breath, and let him go, "Sorry, go back and finish what you were doing. I don't want you to catch a cold," she whispered in a raspy voice.

Kaito frowned, "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly, tilting her head up so he could meet her light eyes. They were scared, which was a shock; even when young, she never cried without a good reason. The younger hunter nodded and turned around to go back to bed, she glanced at her clock and saw she still had an hour and a half before school started.

The man narrowed his eyes, she was not acting her usual way and he didn't like it. She was a serious teaser, sensitive and patient, but all that seemed to have left after that night. He sighed before going back to the bathroom and finishing what he started. When he came out, his friend was waiting for him to come out so she could take her turn. She didn't say anything as she passed him; she just had her façade back and looked straight ahead. That was something that had not been thrown away, but rather it increased.

The wall she had all those years was taller and thicker than ever. She was only calm and relaxed when he was with her, alone to take off those guards she had developed over the last four years. He sighed and sat down on the bed, he closed his eyes and buried his face on his hands, thinking about what he had to do when she would be about to turn. He was startled when a towel dropped on top of his head and dried gently, he looked up, and his breath hitched at the gentle smile she had. The silverette had on her skirt and a white tank top on, a towel resting around her neck, "I send you back, so you didn't stay there dripping wet and get a cold," she scolded lightly.

The brunet smiled lightly, "That was fast," he said.

Snorting, she said, "Fifteen minutes was long enough for the morning," she told him. The man blinked and looked at the clock, sure enough, more than fifteen minutes had passed. He turned back to the girl and smirked.

"So am I going to class with you?" he asked playfully. Zero stopped her movements and looked at him passively; she leaned down slowly. His heart speed up as her pale and smooth face came near his, he was twitching to just raise his head to meet her lips, but she sighed and rested her forehead with his.

She bore her eyes to his cinnamon ones, "Please," she whispered to him and closed her eyes. Kaito relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down. He sat her on his lap, each knee by his thighs, making Zero look slightly up to him.

"You feel it?" he asked softly. Zero tensed and nodded, she moved her head to the side and rested it on his left shoulder.

"I can," she said, inhaling his sweet and chocolate scent.

He held back a shudder as she sighed, "Alright," he told her and hugged her tightly, "I won't let you hurt anyone," he promised, and she only nodded.

She let him hold her like that for a few minutes, long enough to build her wall up and assure herself she could go on today without her dark side breaking out. She pulled away and got up, "Dress however you want, then go talk to the chairman to let you be in all my classes for today," she said, pulling on her shirt and buttoning it up. She put on an elegant black vest and fastened her gun holder, lock the end of her chain to her skirt's belt, and put on her jacket. She turned to him and nodded, she put on her socks and took her bag, "See you later, Kaito," she said before exiting the room.

Zero walked out with a serious expression, the scent of all the girls hit her nose, but she kept control. Yuuki's blood was the most mouthwatering, but so was Kaito's, yet the one she would not be able to resist any longer without having blood in her system was Kaname's. His scent was a refreshing one; moisturized soil with the sweetest rose after heavy rain. The scent called her from the night sky until the morning sun. She was drunk by it, yet was unable to savor it no matter what.

She sighed under her breath as she walked into the classroom, everyone looked at her, surprised. Usually, she would be there a few minutes before class started or a few minutes late. She didn't look at anyone and went to the back of the room and sat down to look out the window. She knew she was going to be up today, and she didn't really care; as long as that dream was kept away, better for her and her sanity.

…

Kaito had gone into the class a few minutes after the teacher got in; he had smiled and handed him the slip that was passed by the chairman to let him be in class. Yuuki had been thirty minutes late, and she had tried to sneak in but was caught when she squealed when she saw Kaito. She was confused by what he was doing there, but did not question it; the brunette had slept most of the classes and had to stay after class to catch up.

Kaito was by the door as Zero finished packing her stuff, everyone else was already gone. The silverette sighed and shook Yuuki awake, "I'm going patrolling, do whatever you want after class. Kai will be with me," she said and left with her friend.

Chocolate eyes gazed at her from the corner of his eye, "You haven't called me 'Kai' since our days," he said smirking.

The girl blushed looking down, "Shut up," she mumbled and looked up, her eyes widened slightly and then hardened drastically.

Kuran Kaname walked down the hall, the night class president and head dorm. The Pureblood in charge of all night students and vampires, as well as her secret love. Kaito glared at him as the silver head looked at him passively, "Kiryu, Yuuki's not with you today," he said with a questioning ring.

"She has make-up classes," she told him, passing him.

Kaname nodded, "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, and she froze.

Kaito narrowed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to his body; she had turned to look at him wide-eyed. Kuran narrowed his eyes over his shoulder, "None of your business," she hissed and walked off after slipping out from the hunters’ arms.

Kaito sighed, "Did you have to do that, _Kuran_?" he asked lowly, the vampire turned to him and looked passively at him.

"You are?" he asked, ignoring the previous question.

"Takamiya Kaito," he replied, straightening a bit.

The vampire narrowed his eyes slightly, "What are you to her?" he questioned.

The hunter smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know. Now I asked if that was necessary," he inquired him once more.

The vampire sighed, "She has to remember who she is," he said and turned around and walked away without another word. The hunter stared at him wide-eyed before glaring and walking away to find his friend.

Zero breathed heavily as she made her way to a garden on the school, most students were back at the academy or at their dorm. She walked and cursed for the Pureblood to appear before her so soon; she was fighting every instinct to stop and stay hidden. The young woman hissed as her throat hurt, and her carven dried. She dug into her jacket, grabbed Bloody Rose, and pulled it out before pointing it to the vampires surrounding her. The circle of Kaname fans looked in disgust at her, Ruka took a step forward with her arms crossed over her chest.

The light brunette glared at her, "Why is Kaname-sama so interested in her? She's only a human," she hissed as her eyes glowed red. In a second, Zero was pointing her weapon to her with narrowed eyes, willing them to stay lavender.

Kain sighed, "Let's go, Kaname-sama will punish us for trying to start a fight with her," he said, placing a hand on top of the girl's shoulder. Zero quickly grabbed it and flipped him over her and let him fall on his back; he blinked, confused.

"So embarrassing," Rima sighed with her hands on her hips.

Shiki shook his head and blinked as the huntress pointed her gun at him. "Stop! Fighting is not allowed!" a stern yet childish voice said, the huntress glared and put down her gun. Yuuki looked at her disappointed before turning to the vampires with her rod in hand, "This will be reported to your dorm leader and the headmaster. Now go get ready for class," she ordered, and the others sighed.

"Always needing help to get out of nasty situations," Ruka murmured as she left.

Yuuki nodded satisfied when they left; she turned to her adoptive sister, "Zero! What were you thinking?" she asked, but the silverette only looked at her darkly. Zero put her gun away as she turned around and went back to school. Yuuki only watched her confused and stomped her foot down and went to the gates to see if anyone was starting to meet for the change between classes.

The silverette hurried to the building, her heart was racing, and her breath was short and labored. She leaned on a wall by the stairs, she gasped and started to climb them slowly. Her nose picked up an appealing scent, one she knew well, "Zero?" they asked. She didn't look up since she knew her eyes were glowing heavily. She took the last step and walked to them. She noted that they were relaxed and helping her gain access to the long neck.

"Forgive me…" she said weakly.

Kaito closed his eyes as the warm tongue licked and nibbled his flesh before a pair of fangs pierced his neck. He groaned and held her tighter, bringing her close to his body and turned a bit to give her a better angle. Zero moaned as the warm blood entered her mouth and slid down her burning throat. The heat died down instantly, and her heart pumped excitedly as the sweet flavor tickled her taste buds. She sucked on his neck, taking more of the delicious liquid. Zero slowly pulled away, licking until it stopped bleeding.

…

Kaname had been talking to the headmaster about Zero’s situation and her need to be put on the night class. He glared at the ex-hunter, "Cross, you have to understand that she is about to fall. If she stays any longer, who knows what she will do!” he said, slamming his hand down.

Kaien furrowed his brows, “I know, but she is fine. Kaito-kun will take care of her for the moment,” he assured and the Pureblood fisted his hands, scrapping the desk and glaring at the man.

He had felt a pang in his heart for some reason, “I’ve worked far too long, and I have lost so much just to get here. I will not let her ruin something like this… make her transfer to the night class, and I will keep an eye on her,” he hissed, straightening up.

The headmaster frowned, “Kaname-kun, you know she will never do something like that,” he sighed. The vampire turned his head to the side with an alarm expression, “What is it?” he asked. The nightwalker turned around and started to walk to the door.

“Blood was spilled,” he stated.

Cross sighed; he guessed Kaito did his job. 

Yuuki had decided to go and search for the older Prefect since class would be starting in half an hour. She ran to the school where she knew Zero would be. She walked up the stairs and was about to call her when she hugged the man and lean up. She blushed when they seemed to be kissing and was about to leave when the soft and pained voice of her adoptive sister reached her ears, “Forgive me…” she said before moaning as she… sucked… on his neck.

The man closed his eyes in pain and held her close as he let her access his neck better. He gasped slightly before turning them sideways so he could lean on the wall a bit; the vampire followed him and sighed after licking his neck of the blood. Yuuki gasped and covered her mouth, red glowing eyes and brown orbs turned to her slowly. Zero’s eyes widened and looked away as she wiped the blood from her chin and was unable not to lick it; the man only looked at her blankly.

Kaname came up and froze as the scent of blood was heavy, and Zero was looking away from them. The hunter he met had two holes on his neck, and he just stared blankly at them, “Your bloodlust has finally defeated you,” he spat out disgusted.

Yuuki jumped and turned to him, “Kaname-sempai!” he didn’t look at her since he was too angry that the first blood she had tasted was not his, but another man’s. Kuran glared and waited for Kiryu to say something.

Zero slowly turned her lavender eyes to him and she glared, “Fuck off! If it weren’t for you Purebloods, than none of this would have happened!” she snarled and turned fully at him. Kaito grabbed her left wrist with his right to stop her from going down and hitting the vampire. The young woman didn’t take her eyes off of the other but didn’t relax either. She bared her fangs at him, “If it weren’t for you…” she hissed bitterly.

Kaname took a step forward, but Yuuki grabbed his arm and held him to his spot. He looked at her before glaring at the other vampire, “You dare bare your fangs at me?” he questioned, and in a second, she had Bloody Rose pointing at him.

Her eyes turned red with anger once more, and she hissed, “I’ll do it not once or twice, I’ll do it until you are nothing but dust,” she whispered coldly, pressing her thumb on top of the safety.

“Zero!” Yuuki yelled and jumped in front of her love.

Kaito had a serious face as he watched Zero; when she pointed the gun at the Pureblood, he knew he had to do something. He got a feeling that she didn’t want to, but the circumstances lead her to do so, and it was hurting her greatly. If the light tremble was anything to go by, Kaito tightened his hold on her wrist and with the second of her attention to him, he leaned down. His left hand grabbed her right and turned her to him as his right moved up to the back of her neck and pulled her to him.

Kaname's eyes widened, and anger flowed as the scene developed in front of his eyes. Zero wasn’t that surprised when her lips met Kaito’s and erased the anger she had for the moment. She knew that Kaname was watching, but she did not care for the moment. Her eyes closed, and she let the sensation take her away. Her thumb left the safety, and her index moved from the trigger and held it lightly as she allowed him to dominate her for a moment.

Yuuki dropped her jaw to the ground and turned away, blushing madly. The President of the Moon dorm fisted his hands and concentrated on not slashing out. He didn’t look away from the kissing scene as Kaien walked up the stairs and came to stand next to him. He heard him sigh and mumbled something about ‘Needed to go that far.’ The two hunters separated and looked at each other for a second of intensity, “Thank you,” Zero said and turned around, her back to them.

Kaito placed his hand on her head as she put her weapon away, “Didn’t want you to hurt,” he mumbled, but Kaname still heard.

She nodded, “When?” she asked.

“Last night, you rarely talk when you sleep, but yesterday you did,” he told her and slowly moved away from the wall to come behind her and held her gently. Kaname and the chairman were probably the only ones that saw her trembling; he glared again as he noted that they had at least slept close to each other last night.

Zero held on tightly as Kaito hugged her gently, "Don't hate it..." he whispered to her only, "It might be the only thing that keeps you close to him," he told her by her ear. He kissed her lightly, making a path of chaste kisses as she turned around in his arms until he reached the corner of her mouth, "Because I know I cannot win against him," he sighed and looked at the pained eyes of his love, "But I'll be here... come to me for anything," he told her before he captured her lips once more. This time, she kissed him back, hesitantly.

Kaname tensed and a crack was heard behind him, Yuuki looked at him with questioning eyes. He knew his face was completely passive, but the heat of rage pulsing through his veins was inextinguishable. Zero rested her forehead on Kaito's after he pulled away, her eyes were closed, but she could feel the piercing orbs of her not so happy Kaname. She pulled away and cupped his face, "Thank you for understanding... and thank you for what you did... Kai... but you know what it has done to me, and I can't really hate it," she told him sadly.

The audience looked confused at her, he smiled at her and caressed her cheek gently as she dropped her hand, "I know. But if you get hurt, you know I'll be waiting," he smirked. The silverette blinked and blushed as she knew what he was going to say next, she tried to cover his mouth, but he quickly held each of her wrists and kept them at her side. He leaned in, "I love you... but apparently cannot have you," he licked her cheek. Kaname was about to take a step, but the next words froze him, "I hate the guy you love... but if he makes you happy, I'll wish you the best," and he pulled away with a smile.

Zero tried as hard as she could to not look at the brunet that captured her heart and instead looked down, biting her lip. She placed her hand on his chest and felt his beating; it was fast and hard. It sang a sad melody to her. She looked at him with a sad face, "Don't make that face...fight for him," he told her, and she shook her head, "Why?" he asked lowly, unconsciously asking what the Pureblood wanted to ask.

She looked away, "I can't," she said painfully, this time Kaname did move.

Yuuki didn't know what was happening right now, but all she knew was that she had to stop her savior from advancing towards the girl. To not take another step towards her and stay by her side. She looked up at blank orbs with her glazy brown ones; he blinked down at her and then looked back at the girl that was messing with his non-existing emotions. He closed his eyes and turned away from them; he gave a stern look towards the chairman who looked at Zero seriously before heading to class.

Yuuki followed after him, “Kaname-sempai!” she called out of breath as he finally stopped outside the school. She sighed and walked up to his side, “Why is Zero a vampire?” she asked, and the vampire sighed.

“She was bitten. That night she came here, a vampire attacked her family and changed her,” he informed and left without feeling a bit guilty if he triggered some scary memory for her or not.


	6. Attack of the Vampires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to edit the chapters as quickly as I can, but it'll take time! Please enjoy!

Zero sighed as she went to the field where her class was practicing P.E with the horses.

Kaito had just left to go back to the Association; she blushed as she sat down under a tree, slowly bending down to lie down and looked at the sky. She put her hand on top of her eyes and sighed as her flush darkened.

_Kaito and the younger huntress walked down the long path to the entrance of the Academy. She was silent as they strolled, not wanting to part, yet needing to. She wanted him to stay, to stay, and try and take her heart back and keep it for himself. She didn’t want to love Kaname the way she did and wanted someone she knew would stop her if anything terrible was to happen while loving her at the same time._

_Her hand moved on its own and took hold of his shakily. The hunter looked surprised at her, but squeezed her hand gently and stopped to look at her. The girl was worrying her lip; he smiled softly and touched her lips with his thumb as his other fingers held her chin gently. Zero looked up surprised, and a blush came to her lovely pale face, “I want you to have more before I leave,” he whispered to her._

_A shuddered had moved up her spine, and she had leaned in to inhale his delicious scent. Her free hand touched the opposite side of the neck she was scenting and slowly pulled him down so she could sink her fangs into his neck. The older of the two closed his eyes, circling his arms around her body and held her in a warm and reassuring embrace. When Kiryu finished, he pulled her into a full hug and didn’t let her go for minutes._

_The two just held each other by the gates of the school and cherished the seconds passing by as they memorized the feeling that could be, but won’t be. He pulled away just enough to gaze at her lilac eyes; she blinked slowly and blushed at the closeness they were in. He sighed and placed his forehead on hers, "You wouldn’t be able to at least try, right?" He asked her softly._

_Zero’s blushed deepened, and she shook her head slightly, "I . . . hate . . . to love him, but I do. And no matter how much I wish I didn’t, he holds my heart without knowing so," she told him with a pained smile._

_Kaito closed his eyes to hide his anger, "I will be here," he vowed, opening his eyes and boring his warm cinnamon eyes with a promise of a lifetime._

_Kiryu's breath hitched, and she did what her body was screaming her to do. Her warm and slightly trembling lips found his shocked ones. She kissed him as slowly as she dared and held him tighter. He let his love for her pour into that kiss; it would probably be the last she gave him and pressed her to his chest lovingly._

_Zero moaned, and the senor Hunter took the chance to deepen the kiss. His tongue entered her warm carven, and he explored as much as he could. His pink muscle met hers, and they played together before he brushed it along one of her fangs and let some of his blood into the heated kiss._

_T_ _he vampire mewled into his mouth, and her legs gave up on her. Kaito caught her weight before her lips could even think of leaving his. Zero tilted her head more so he could ravish her lips more and let him love her for that one minute. Kaito finally set them free but planted butterfly kisses across her cheek towards her temple. The silverette was panting with closed eyes; his light kisses gave her something she thought he wouldn't be able to provide her with, love and complete acceptance._

_He cupped her cheek in his warm hand and buried his nose on top of her head, “Don’t forget it,” he told her and let her go altogether._

_The warmth she had been enveloped until now disappeared and she wanted to clench to it desperately but knew she couldn’t. She smiled at him, “I won’t . . . and I truly am sorry I cannot return those feelings,” she whispered, but he shook his head. He sighed and turned towards the entrance and started to walk without another word._

_The girl stood there as she watched him walk down the stairs slowly, the morning sun shining with power and warmth. She sighed and turned around to go to her class, yet not wanting to. She bit her lip as her hand moved to her lips and blushed, she growled and turned to a different direction than to the school. She wasn’t in any mood to stay in her classroom to listen to something she knew she would get in the beginning. Zero walked back to the dorm to see if she could get some shut-eye._

Kiryu was on her back with her arms under her head, acting as a pillow her gaze still on the clear sky, and she frowned a bit at her memory. She closed her eyes and tried to see if she could finish her nap from the morning, but a galloping sound was coming near. She sat up and sighed when she saw Lily run her way, “Always in a foul mood,” she mumbled under her breath. The white horse saw Zero, and changed her destination and turned to her; screams were heard all over the field, and some students hurried to her in some other horses.

The horse brought her front legs up to stomp on her, but Zero grabbed her strap and pulled her down as she jumped on top of her. Lily’s head was pulled back as the girl tried to get on top of her, her black skirt waved elegantly, yet not showing her clothing underneath. She was finally settled on top, and placed her hand on her neck to calm her down, “Lily… it’s alright,” she said softly.

The horse recognized the familiar voice and calmed down instantly.

She commanded the horse to turn back to the practice area and saw boys blushing her way, some whispering among themselves while others were gazing at her in awe. She heard something about being the only one to stand against Kuran Kaname, but she really wasn’t. She was only battling her feeling toward the guy. Yuuki came running to her as Lily slowly started walking forth, “Zero! I’m so sorry. Even if she is sensitive, this is the first time she has done this . . .” she told her walking alongside the mare.

The vampire nodded, she closed her eyes and suppressed her own shudder, “She probably only felt a… dangerous… aura,” she said before bumping her heels into the horse’s stomach to make her run back to the stable.

Lily snorted before dashing away, “Ah! Zero, wait!” Yuuki called, but she was already yards away.

Back in the night dorm, Ichijo closed the window with a nervous smile, “Seems like Zero-chan saved the day once more…” he said as Kaname wrote something on his paper.

“Hmm,” he said, and the blond came to sit on a sofa.

“That horse is too sensitive. I only opened the window, and she felt us…” Ichijo said and sighed. “Even though today is a holiday, you’re here stuck doing something for us,” he sighed lowly.

“The counseling keeps sending the reports here, so there’s nothing I can do but look at them,” Kaname stated bored.

The noble laughed a bit, “Right… I cannot imagine myself doing that,” he groaned sympathetically and got up, “…the horse didn’t hurt Yuuki,” he mumbled to himself.

“Is that so?” the brunet said, looking down at his paper.

“Hmm-mm,” the other hummed and turned away with a smile, “I think I’m going back to read some manga!” he said too cheerfully.

Kaname’s cold voice stopped him, “Ichijo,” he said, and the blond froze.

He turned around a bit, “Yes?” he asked with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

…

She wasn't really that sure how she ended up here, with Yuuki, out on the city of the Academy. The two had been called to the Chairman's office after the little incident on P.E. Yuuki had been worried that Kaien had wanted to scold her, but Zero assured her they were probably being called for another absurdity of the man.

The huntress had been correct. After the two had gotten there, the ex-hunter started blabbering some non-sense. After almost an hour of his childish talk, he had asked the two girls to go to the city and buy him some stuff. Zero had all but been ready to kill him, while Yuuki had stopped her from doing any harm to her adoptive father.

So here they were, three hours later, out shopping for _stuff._ If she had known some of the things were going to be so big, she would have decline no matter what. The skipping girl turned to her, "Come on, Zero! We're losing time because of your slow pace," she scolded, pointing a finger towards the taller girl.

The silverette glared at her, "Well, I don't see _you_ carrying anything," she hissed, trying not to drop anything.

The brunette blushed and pouted, "But you are so-o strong!" She whined. Zero narrowed her eyes and kept walking. "I'm hungry," Yuuki stated after another store they had exited.

"...Chose a place to eat," the huntress sighed tiredly. The brunette beamed and dashed away, she didn't even wait for the girl carrying the entire thing, "I should have told you to stay longer," she murmured following the girl.

The place she found was a small Café by some stores. She had asked if they could go there after they ate, but Zero had refused. So here Yuuki was sulking as she ate the ice-cream she had ordered. The silverette wasn't really in the mood to pay attention to her, so she just ate in silence while gazing at the streets. "Excuse me?" A hesitant voice asked from her other side; she turned around and met many shining eyes. The waitress they had blushed a bit, "Um... are you by any change part of the Night Class?" she inquired nervously.

Zero's eyes widened, "Ah! I knew it." She said and smile, "Aido-san always comes here to eat some sw-" a pale and delicate hand slammed on the table. The girls blinked, startled at the raising beauty.

Zero glanced at them slightly with a cold glare, "I'll be waiting for you outside," she hissed lowly and grabbed some of the things, and left some for Yuuki to carry. Kiryu walked out of the Café with a scowl and stopped, narrowing her eyes. She looked to the left and sighed.

Zero dropped the things and dashed into the alley she sensed a presence in. There was no sign of anything as she went farther and farther in; her denim skirt waved as she stopped and abruptly turned back to the entrance of the alley. Zero’s lavender blouse followed her movements elegantly, and her jacket fluttered softly as she ran. She saw Yuuki frozen in front of a Level E vampire; the huntress looked ahead grimly as she rushed to her aid.

The silverette came up behind Yuuki and took hold of the rod to guide the weapon to the vampire. The brunette looked behind her and met a grim beauty looking blankly at the fallen vampire. Zero pulled Yuuki back and took Artemis in her hands; she pulled back the rod and was about to take another hit when a blade cut clean through the ex-human. Zero blinked as ashes fell to the ground, and her cold eyes met warm green.

The huntress sighed softly and straightened from her offensive crouch. She maneuvered the rod around her finger and stopped; her hand in the middle, and the rod went back into the simple article to carry in a big pocket. She turned slightly to Yuuki, "It's okay," she told her, handing her the weapon and turning to the nobles. She nodded once, "Ichijo-sempai, Shiki-sempai," she said, walking past them.

The blond smiled a bit, "Cold as ever, Zero-chan," he told her.

He blinked, and the next second he had Bloody Rose pointing at his face, "Call me that again, and I swear I will shove this up your ass and fire," she hissed with a deadly glare.

Shiki's lips twitched while the blond paled and nodded, "I understand … Kiryu-chan," he grinned but got out of the way as the silverette unlock the safety of the gun. "Okay, okay. Kiryu, I understand," he said, running behind the younger noble. Zero followed him with her lilac orbs and put Bloody Rose down with the safety back on.

Yuuki hit her on the head and glared at her, "Zero! They just helped, and you pick a fight with them? What's wrong with you!" she glowed, and the girl turned to glare at her.

"At least I did something!" she hissed and turned around to go back to her forgotten stuff she had to take back to the Chairman. She was pissed; the only reason why those two would even be out at day was because Kaname ordered them to keep watch on Yuuki. She was enraged because she knew the Pureblood thought too little of her.

If he thought that she would need help to get rid of a Level E, Kaname was mistaken. But to also give her an idea that she wasn't able to protect Yuuki was a stab to her pride. And a slash to her heart. To go as far as using his authority to keep Yuuki safe from just a few hours out of the Academy. She sighed as the brunette grabbed some stuff without a word and started to walk back home.

Ichijo rushed to them, "Wait!" he called, and the two stopped. Shiki blinked at him, "I also wanted to invite you to my birthday party tonight," he said, and the two vampires froze.

Yuuki blinked and beamed at him, "Su-" she was cut off by a growl.

"No!" the huntress stated. Yuuki turned to glare at her, but the heat in her orbs stopped her from saying anything else.

Ichijo only kept smiling, "Look at it as my repayment for saving you," he said, and the huntress spun around with a snarled. Her skirt, jacket, and hair seemed to have agreed because they moved elegantly along her.

The blond had to keep his smile not to let the slight blush reach his cheeks. Seriously, when Zero was angry or pissed, she looked prettier than ever. The aura she gave off was pure and royally. "You saved us?" she asked lowly, the blond nodded happily, "If Kuran hadn't sent you here, I would have gotten rid of it!" she stated.

The other blinked surprised at her, "Kaname-sempai?" Yuuki asked.

"How do you know he sent us?" Shiki asked.

"Who else would?" she hissed with a glare before taking a deep breath.

“Still, we saved you, so come to my party," he said and started to walk away with a skip to his step.

Zero glared harder, "What time?" she asked through clench teeth; the two vampires turned to look at her stunned, and Yuuki was shocked. The silverette crooked a brow as she started to cool down, "Well? If you don't give us a time, how are we going to be sure we get there?" she questioned, shifting to her left foot and looking at the birthday boy passively.

When the blond found his voice, he told them at what time to go, then the two nobles left. Yuuki looked up at the other girl, “Hurry up and take care of that wound,” Zero said, sighing and grabbing the rest of the stuff from the ground.

The brunette blinked and held her right elbow, “Sorry,” she said lowly.

“…Don’t worry,” the huntress mumbled and kept her eyes ahead of them.

…

Dinner came soon after they came back to the Academy; Kaien was happily going back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen. Zero was sitting quietly, her left arm resting on top of the table, while her right supported her chin. She blinked as the brunette sat down in front of her, her eyes full of wanting curiosity, and she knew she would have to answer some questions. She sighed, "What is it?" she asked lowly, making sure Yuuki felt comfortable to ask, even if _she wasn't_.

The adopted daughter blushed, "...Why... didn't you tell me?" she questioned in a low voice.

The Kiryu sighed, "I didn't want to worry you," she replied passively.

Yuuki glared at her, "I would rather you told me than be naive enough to believe you were okay!" she huffed, "No wonder you would suck as an older sister," she mumbled, earning a glare from the silverette.

"Yuuki," the voice of the Chairman said, the girl looked up, but the vampire kept glaring at her.

"Do you want me to help you?" she asked, about to get up, but the man shook his head.

He looked worriedly at the silverette, "Just keep your mouth shut if you don't know anything," he stated and went back to the kitchen.

Yuuki blinked and looked back at the other girl; she bit her lip at the wounded and distant look the vampire had taken. Zero opened her mouth without looking at her, "That is what you think... but... I just closed myself from being the same big sister I used to be," she murmured lowly.

The brunette blinked, confused.

"I had a sister... she died the day I was bitten," she closed her eyes and sighed. "Vampires took everything away from me. My parents, my home... and my little sister," she said and felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up and found the Chairman looking down at her warmly.

"Let's eat," he said and let her go as he set the last plate down. Zero nodded, refusing to look at the other girl, she knew she didn't mean any harm, but that had hurt her more than anything.

…

After dinner, the ex-hunter gave Zero her box of tablets; she sighed, "Thanks," she said, taking them.

She looked up and met brown eyes looking at the box worried, "How were you turned? I thought that being bitten by a vampire to turn you was only a... myth." She had looked down halfway through the sentence.

The silverette sighed, "Yes... unless it's by a Pureblood," she said, getting up. "I was bitten by a Pureblood vampire," she said and got up.

Yuuki looked wide-eyed at her, but whatever she might have asked, she would not be able to since Zero left the room a second later. The vampire walked to her bedroom in the headmaster's home; even if she lived in the dorm, she still kept her place there. The girl started to unbutton her blouse as she walked to her bed, the school Uniform resting there. She kept a serious face as she changed; Zero hadn't been thinking of her sister, and it pained her to admit that she was forgetting about her.

Yuuki's words had haunted her heart the second they came out; the image of her sister had flashed through her mind. That night had come back to her, and she wished she had stayed conscious enough to see what really happened. How she died, how she had failed, and what she could have done. She slipped her armband and looked at the mirror, her eyes were hard and dark, her skin was a bit pale, but nothing serious. She took a deep breath and checked Bloody Rose to see if she was fully loaded.

When she reentered the dining room, it had been cleaned, and Yuuki was arranging a few things, "Hurry up, we're going to be late," she said lowly.

The brunette flinched and jumped, "Zero! Don't scare me like that!" she yelled, placing a hand over her heart.

The huntress crooked a brow, "Get ready; we’re leaving in five minutes," she ordered and went back the way she had come. The girl looked blankly ahead and ignored her surroundings; she stopped outside the house and looked up at the dark sky.

After Yuuki came out with her Prefect uniform, the two made their way to the night dorm. A few minutes later, after they crossed the gates, Aido and Kain appeared out of nowhere. Yuuki had taken Artemis out in a second, while Zero just stood calmly, "Yuuki," she said, placing a hand over the rod and lowering it, "They're just here to escort us," Zero assured her. The cousins blinked, surprised. "Or am I wrong?" she asked, moving her free hand to her weapon.

Aido smiled forcefully, "No, you're right. Follow us," he said and turned around, Zero nodded and let go of the rod. Yuuki sighed and put Artemis away and hid slightly behind the taller girl. The huntress' senses went up the scale; the nobles were showing their true colors as they walk down the path to the main vampire of the night. Zero looked around as every noble had their eyes on the two of them. Some were glaring at her and others at Yuuki -mostly females.

Zero came across vampires holding weapons, others drinking blood, and others paying no mind to them. When she turned to look at the birthday blood lover, she froze at the shinning vampire and sighed as he started a conversation with the short girl, “I was really hoping you would come!” Ichijo said to the silverette.

The huntress looked at him, “I promise, didn’t I?” she asked, looking away with a blank look.

“Don’t be so cold!” he whined.

Yuuki waved her hands in the air, “Anyway, I really wanted to know why you were out in the day!” she said, fisting her hands and moving them in front of her. She looked down, dropping her arms to the side, “I’m a Prefect… and I cannot let this broken rule pass… plus that vampire…” she trailed off.

Lilac eyes quickly found the girl’s back, “It’s okay to ask, we all know about this matter,” the blond said, crossing his arms.

“Do dangerous vampires roam the streets freely? Is that why you went to kill it? Just what was that vampire…?” she asked softly.

Zero closed her eyes and opened them when Aido spoke up, “That was an ‘ex-human’ vampire,” he said lowly. “Lower actually,” he said disgustedly.

Ichijo sighed, “Our society has four classes of vampires: Purebloods, A-Class; Nobles, B-Class, Normal Vampires, C-Class and ‘Ex-human’ Vampires, D-Class. We nobles take care of the runaway E Class, the vampire I killed his afternoon. That type doesn’t even make the pyramid we have established for us,” he said as simple as he could.

Yuuki looked confused while Zero watched her, “What… is an E Class?” she asked lowly.

“In a simple matter, it’s the ‘End class,’ something your partner should know. After all, she is part of a Hunter clan,” Kain said, nodding to the silverette.

Yuuki turned to look at her, “D-Class will eventually sink to E-Class. The level of their thinking will become nothing but a search for blood. Their human ‘limit’ will slowly vanish until there is nothing but a lustful beast of blood,” she said passively.

“We B-Class must keep them in check, but there are times when they slip by and go into the day world. In this case, we hunt them down and kill them…” the birthday vampire stated.

“I got a report today about this vampire,” everyone stopped talking and turned to where the charming voice came from. Zero tensed as she saw the Pureblood walkout from the dorms, “Ichijo and Shiki went to hunt it down,” he said and looked at her. “At my command,” he told her.

Zero looked away and tried as hard as she could not show any sign of hurt or anger; whispers about the vampire started to come up in a flash. The silverette looked away from the two, “Why did you, Prefects, not report this?” he asked, “And coming here,” he sighed disapprovingly.

“But!” Yuuki protested, “We… didn’t report this because we just wanted to know what it was all about…I wanted to know,” she said, looking down.

Kaname looked at the huntress, “We?” he asked, “You could have just told her, instead you let her come here,” he narrowed his eyes.

The Kiryu glared, “She never asked, and we promised your damn sunshine to come to his stupid party,” she hissed and looked away. “And you could have informed the Chairman after you gave your order,” she murmured.

The Kuran narrowed his eyes, and looked back at Yuuki, “You wanted to know this,” he said, turning around. The brunette walked forward, making the huntress follow to make sure no one tried anything. Kaname sat down on a fancy sofa, he pated the place next to him once and looked at the human, “Have a seat,” he ordered.

Zero blinked and looked to the bushes, trying to not look at what she knew would come next, “Here’s fine,” was the weak reply from the girl.

Kaname sighed, “Yuuki,” he said, and the girl quickly sat down.

The huntress only followed to a distance where she knew she could pull the brunette out of harm’s way, but her heart just had to hurt as her love wrapped an arm around her partner. Kaname kept looking ahead, “Here, you are safe,” he told her lightly.

His eyes moved to the tall girl, and his eyes hardened, he was irritated and angry at her. He had been concerned for her all of last night, and in the morning he found out that Kiryu had already made a bond that will give her what he wished to give her, no, Yuuki…but… his heart was in conflict. When he saw the two hunters walk down the path to the front gate, he decided to follow them to see if he got to hear more interesting information.

The fact that Zero loves someone was a massive impact, but knowing that she won’t fight for him was not a surprise to him. Yet the hurt in her eyes broke through whatever barrier he had around his cold heart. But when he saw the girl slowly take the hand of the man –the man she said she could not return his feelings- he had frozen in his tracks. He enraged by the way Kaito looked at her, but most of all, he was incredibly furious at her for kissing him.

Not only that but drinking his blood in plain daylight! It was shocking for him, and what surprised him more was the way his heart reacted. When he saw Zero kiss the hunter, he felt the need to separate them and show not only him but her, that she could not look or touch anyone besides him. To get the point that she belonged to him through. He had wanted to be the one kissing the silver head beauty.

Kaname was now looking at her passively, yet the vampire would not turn to look at him. He wanted to study those light gems to see if she had been telling the truth the night before and the last words she gave the hunter. He wanted to make sure she was telling the truth, but at the same time, be lying. He desired her to just look at him, but he doesn’t want her to have a part of him. All he wanted was only to love the girl in his arms. Now looking at Zero from the corner of his eye, he felt the difference of attraction he had for each one.

“I must apologize for the encounter you had, but you were at fault too. Not to forget you got injured, does it hurt?” Kaname inquired, touching her injured arm gently.

Yuuki shook her head, “I wasn’t paying attention,” blushing pink, she said nervously.

The feeling of protectiveness fell upon him, and after hours, he felt like he could do what he wanted. He wanted to hurt the huntress for causing him so much trouble in so little time.

He looked at the now observing silver head, “D-Class, ‘Ex-humans,’ should have never been created.” He stated and turned back to his charge. He uncovered her arm slowly, “They all came to be for the battle fought long ago. The battle between Vampire Hunters and us; some vampires wanted to increase their combat power, and the change began. Now, we have to take responsibility for their actions; we sometimes take care of them,” he said, slipping the bandage off of her arm.

Zero had almost flinched with his comment about ex-human vampires, but she was able to control her body, yet not her heart. She could feel it bleeding, and the wound would not close. She commanded her eyes to dull with irritation.

“But that is the job of the Vampire Hunters,” she stated calmly.

Kaname’s chestnut orbs looked at her, “And you didn’t, because?” he asked lowly. The huntress was about to tell him, but froze as he raised Yuuki’s arm to his lips, “I’ll take the pain away,” he promised before kissing her wound. Yuuki blushed, trying to take her arm back, “Could it be you sympathized with him?” he asked the glaring huntress.

Zero’s heart cracked. In a second, she pulled her gun out and pointed it at the Pureblood. She took a step back to dodge the sharp hand and looked at him emotionlessly. The atmosphere quickly changed, and everyone got a weapon out. Kaname looked at her passively, yet he was mad at how nonchalant Zero appeared.

“Seiren, it’s fine,” he said, backing away from Yuuki’s arm and lowering it. “I was the careless one,” he said, sitting back.

Yuuki looked at Zero wide-eyed, “ _Zero_ ,” she said, but the huntress didn’t lower her weapon.

“Listen, Kuran, the only reason why I didn’t kill the E was because your damn minions got in my way. Not only that, but if you knew it was roaming the streets, you should have reported it to the Chairman since today was a holiday for you, and knew we would be going out,” she snapped coldly.

Zero glared at him and lowered Bloody Rose, “You know how Yuuki is on the outside, yet you say it’s my fault she got hurt. If _you_ didn’t exist, they wouldn’t either. So back to your comment from before, _you_ were the ones that created those beings, _you_ are at fault for them lusting after blood, and _you_ think we will do everything you say just because you’re too lazy to take matters into your hands,” she growled and put her gun away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments make me happy!


	7. Attack of the Hunter

Silence filled the garden as she looked at the slightly wide-eyed brunet; she looked at Yuuki and sighed. Aido took a step forth. He looked icily at her, “No matter what, I will not break the pack Cross-san created. I will tolerate this at school hours, but just remember,” he said, placing his hand on his hip. “The reason why we are here, why we tolerate scum like you, is because of Kaname-sama,” he hissed, and the brunette gasped lowly.

She looked at the Kuran wide-eyed, “Kaname-sempai…you’re a Pureblood?” she asked, stunned.

Kaname looked at her calmly, “Yes, but it seems this is the first you’ve heard,” he stated passively. “Afraid?” he asked, trying to ignore all the things Zero had just pointed out. He needed a distraction from the attack he brought upon himself, her big brown eyes locked with his.

“Truthfully, I’ve always been scared of you,” she said lowly.

The huntress looked away, “Enough of this! It’s my party, and we need to celebrate!” the blond said, turning to everyone else.

The silver head moved furthest away from Kaname, yet trying to stay as close as possible to the other Prefect. Her eyes watched the night class start to enjoy themselves with blood, she looked at them neutrally, but soon her throat began to hurt with the need to satisfy her thirst for the red liquid. She closed her eyes, willing to ignore it, but it just wasn’t working this time around.

_Love… acceptance… need… want…_ she opened her eyes and came face to face to her personal hell. She was about to growl, but a voice rang in her mind, _‘Don’t hate it… It might be the only thing that keeps you close to him,’_ and she left the scene.

She felt hot, and with the need to sink her fangs into a neck became significant, she rushed to the pool to try and lower her temperature as she drank the tablets. She took off her jacket and unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt.

After pulling out the square container, she tossed some into her mouth. The pills that didn’t make it to her mouth fell to the ground as she dropped to her knees. The tablets worked quickly and filled her hunger. She took deep breaths to calm down and finally think straight. The worried voice of Yuuki carried out towards her, and she blinked, surprised. The girl cursed and quickly turned around to see if she was hurt or anything.

Zero grabbed the shorter girl by the arms and pulled her in front of her. Yuuki’s wide eyes told her that the tablets were still working, making her eyes glow red. She was about to let her go when the brunette jumped back onto the pool. The silverette looked at her wide-eyed and quickly let her go after they were underwater. The concerned face of the younger went unseen by Zero. Swimming to the surface, bang echoed in their ears.

The silver head froze as the anti-vampire bullet passed through her right shoulder. Her blood reacted once more to try and heal the wound as she turned slowly, “Never thought I’d use this on you, Ze-chan,” he said. “Stop, _vampire_ ,” a man with a brown trench coat and a cowboy hat said.

The Kiryu’s eyes widened, “S…sensei?” she asked, stunned.

….

Kaname watched them go and sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, “I…” he looked down tiredly.

Aido sighed, “If you were tired, did you had to come out?” he asked, handing him a cup of blood. The Pureblood looked at it before shaking his head and standing up.

“I still have some paperwork to do,” he said and left the party. All eyes stared at him with worry; Ichijo only sighed and started to get everyone’s attention.

The vampire walked back to his study. He opened his window to let some fresh air in. Kaname went to sit on his chair, unsure of what to do or look at. Zero’s comment had hurt him more than he let on, but more on the fact that _he_ had hurt _her_. Once again, he felt powerless with his feelings towards Zero and his not-sure-what-kind-of-love he has for Yuuki. He sighed and leaned back. His eyes stared at the white ceiling until the smell of blood entered his office.

The Pureblood got up and walked over to the window; he looked out with narrowed eyes. The blood spilled was… Zero’s. He turned around and started to go to the door, but he stopped himself just as he had a hand on the doorknob and turned back to his desk.

He had things to do, and he would do them.

….

Zero held her shoulder in pain. She glared at the water as the blood tablets slowly did their job. The only problem she had was that she would need to take more. Even if she was okay with this herself, she still didn't exactly like it, nor did she have to enjoy them. Yuuki held her and glared at the man, "What did you do that?" she asked angrily.

"Zero, you've fallen," he said, ignoring the girl entirely and pointed his rifle to the young huntress. The short brunette glared and put herself in front of her almost sister figure.

The vampire pushed her away, "Yuuki, it's fine," she said, moving her shoulder to see if it was fine. The man blinked, surprised, "Now, are you okay?" Zero asked the girl, who nodded silently. The silverette nodded and turned to look at her sensei, "Let me explain what you two thought I would do, but what I was really doing," she said, sighing. They looked at her in confusion, "I came here to take my tablets since the party of the bloodsuckers over there was getting on my nerves. I took them, and Yuuki appeared."

After unbuttoning her shirt, she showed them her half-healed shoulder, "I remembered I _left_ her with _vampires._ All I was about to do was to make sure she was perfectly intact. But I guess that she thought I was going to bite her since I assume my eyes were red, so she jumped back, giving me a fright," she glared at her. "I connected the dots a second later, and then you shot me. Probably thinking the same as her," she finished buttoning her shirt once more.

The man blinked and sighed. He hid half his face with his hand and looking at her, relieved, "I tho-" he was interrupted by a cry.

"Sto-op!" Kaien rushed in and stopped when he saw the calm atmosphere between them. He tilted his head to the side, "Huh?" he asked, quickly going to aid the two, but Yuuki got out on her own. Zero glanced at her teacher, and he looked back, the man gave her a hand, and she took it without a second thought. Yuuki watched as the second she was out, he hugged her tightly as if trying to make sure she was there.

Kiryu sighed and patted his back affectionately, "Don't worry, Kaito already made sure I kept my sanity," she assured him.

Pulling away with a glare, he demanded, "Who said I'm worried?" he looked aside. "I heard from this idiot you took his blood," he stated, pointing to the chairman.

The silverette nodded, "He asked me to," she said lightly. "But he gave me more than I could ever hope," she smiled. A hand fell on her head, she looked up, and her heart calmed down at the approving eye he had.

Yuuki looked at them, "Who are you?" she asked slowly, "And Zero, how can you let him just off the hook after he shot you!" she questioned, upset.

The vampire sighed, "Because he is the person that taught me all about vampires. He is the only one allowed to kill me if I ever fall to E class. He is my teacher, and he has a right to do what he did... if I was actually going to do it," she said solemnly.

"Why?" Yuuki said sadly, "Why would you let him kill you?" she asked.

Zero sighed, "Because I owe my life to him if I'm going to be killed, it better be him," she stated.

Yuuki gasped wide-eyed. She glared at her, "You would just give up like that? Leave Kaito-san? Give up without fighting? Without care for the person you love?" her rant was stopped by the silverette’s hand hitting her across the face.

"Don't you dare question me about giving up. I'm not. I've lost far too much to throw anything away," Zerp hissed with a glare. "As the chairman said, keep your mouth shut if you don't know anything," she snarled and turned around. "And fighting for the person I love would be pointless. We cannot be together no matter how much I wish it," she stated.

The ex-hunter sighed while the hunter watched his student leave with a stiff form, "She must have had that dream not long ago," Yagari said and looked at the girl. He looked at Yuuki coldly, "Outsiders should stay outside. Just how much do you know about Kiryu Zero?" he demanded. Turning to his uncle, "I'll take care of tomorrow. I'm going to see if she needs anything," he said, leaving a shocked girl and a neutral headmaster.

Yuuki looked at him with hurt eyes. "Don't look like that; you touched a sensitive subject for her once again. Zero responded in a way she could forget," he assured her, hugging her.

Yuuki frowned, "But she never tells me anything, how am I supposed to know what and what not to say? She's the one that won't open up!" she told him.

The ex-hunter sighed, "You are the one that won't ask. You are the one that won't observe. You care, but at the same time, there are more important things for you," he said, letting her go. The brunette looked at him, shocked. "You keep talking about Kaname-kun like he's the best person out there. But to Zero, he's her worse enemy. He's a Pureblood, a pureblood that can destroy something without him trying," he said.

The girl shook her head, "No, Kaname-sempai isn't like that! He's kind and gentle... he understands!" she told him desperately.

Kaien looked at her with a sad smile, "You don't see it from a hunter's point of view. You're only a human that sees the façade of a vampire," he said and left her to finish the paperwork he had for his friend. Yuuki looked at him wide-eyed; she bit her lip and fisted her hands.

"Zero is wrong,” she told herself.

//

The vampire walked through the school's main path to the Sun dorm; she glared at the ground as she chewed on a tablet. She had lost her sensei after he went after her, but she wanted to be alone at the moment. She stopped and blinked, a smile formed slowly, and she ran to the girl's dorm to get some things she needed before heading there. She got her keys out and rushed through the doors and to her room; opening her room, she grabbed a bag. She changed and took a quick shower so she wouldn’t get sick.

Once out, she put on some warm clothes and left once more. Zero hurried out of the dorms and headed to the stable. She knew it was completely random, but she needed to be alone, yet with someone. The closest person, or animal, was Lily. She was still hurting from both of her precious people's comments; Yuuki, she could to a point understand, but Kaname was a different thing altogether. He was a Pureblood, a vampire that could turn a human into one of them if they wished; he had that ability, yet called it a curse. Though the girl knew he would turn Yuuki if he so desired, then what would she become? Would Yuuki be just a vampire that will turn to an E class or a lover that he would cherish?

Kiryu didn't know, and she didn't really want to. It would only hurt her more if she did, but either way, Zero knew she was already in pain. Tonight, her heart had just taken a huge blow, one that might just not heal no matter what time gives her. The fact that Kaname hates her to the point of not wanting her to exist was a stab deep to her heart and soul. It wasn't her fault that a Pureblood had turned her after killing her family. She wasn't at fault. She had become what she was after years of fighting it.

She had wanted to shoot him so badly; it would have been so easy to inflict him with an ounce of her pain to him. But she just couldn’t; she couldn't pull the trigger no matter how much her pain asked her to. A frown set on her lips; he had made her remember just who he was and what he was. What she hated the most, and what she could not help but love. He reminded her of what she would become and just how much she hated the blood running through her veins. She had to remember that night once more, all in front of them, and she hated to show weakness.

Zero had been left with an open wound that had been cut deeper and broader with Yuuki's insensitive comments. She never cared to ask. She just assumed. If Yuuki had known that a vampire had killed her family, a Pureblood in that matter, Yuuki would have learned to keep her tongue in check. No matter how much she loved her, the girl could be an airhead and only realized what she did wrong after the damage was done. She didn't need someone that always reminded her of the life she used to have.

The silverette entered the stable quietly. Horses were either resting or eating. She walked to Lily's compartment and looked at the inside; the horse was on the back pacing a bit. The horse perked up when she saw her tamer and friend. The animal moved closer to her and nodded, asking her to pet her. Zero smiled and patted her nose bridge, "Hey..." she said, opening the door. The huntress walked in and rested her forehead on top of Lily's. She closed her eyes and relaxed for a second. When the vampire pulled away, she smiled gently at her and moved the rail, dropping her bag where Lily's gear was.

Zero moved quickly. Putting on the bridles, the saddle’s pan on top of the horse's back, and soon strapped the saddle on. The girl patted her shoulder, "We're going for a walk," she said, pulling her by the reins around her head leading her to the stable doors. When they walked out, the girl jumped on top of her and kicked her on the gut, and she moved the reins. Lily yelled and started to jog towards the track; the wind was gentle and calm. Zero stopped her before entering; she gazed at the full moon for a while.

The huntress felt relaxed, at ease out at night. She sighed and looked down at the white horse, “I might push you a bit harder, but just bear with me," she said, leaning down to hug her. The girl sighed and straightened, she moved up and down the straps, and they moved forward. As they entered the running track, something seemed to snap inside of her finally, and she pushed Lily into a jog. She did a long lap with that speed, but she was lightly pushing the horse to go faster and faster. When she knew she was ready, she hit hard on her gut.

Lily snorted before raising her speed, not knowing what was happening but understanding she needed the speed to help whatever was required to make her feel better. Laps were completed, sometimes she slowed down, and others she would push. Zero's eyes started to water, but she knew it had nothing to do with the wind. The pain she had been holding was finally breaking through her iron wall. She panted and stopped the horse slowly as she trembled. Lily snorted and stomped on her spot. The weight on her vanished a second later when an irritated snarled ripped through the calm night.

Lily flinched. The pain transmitted to her through the sound startled her to the point she jumped. Zero clenched her hands and glared at the sky; she was breathing heavily and couldn't stop the tears from falling. She closed her eyes tightly, trying as hard as she could to push those feelings away. Anger, hate, irritation, and love. She wanted to forget it all, all that connected him to her in a way. She just wanted the chains around her heart to fall and let it free. Free from a bitter love she had, knowing it will never be, and hoping it would hear her plead.

/

Kaname froze as a delicious scent came to him. The wind carried the lovely smell of flowers to his sharp senses. He looked out the window of his study and saw a horse jogging to the racing track. He was shocked to see the girl his troubles seem to come from, ready to race at this hour. The vampire got up, and he moved to the door. He had changed into something a bit more comfortable, and he was glad since he would be going to the track in a few seconds. The vampire looked at Seiren, "Stay here," he said and left the dorm.

When Kaname got there, they were in the middle of finishing warming up. He blinked when she glared and pushed the horse hard. The vampire frowned, wondering why she was so rough when she was usually collective and elegant. He took a step closer to see her better, but the second he did, he regretted it. When he saw the big fat tears roll down her face, they did something to his heart, something he had been ignoring for a while. When the girl finally slowed down, he felt the urge to go to her and try whatever he could to stop the tears from staining her beautiful face.

He noted how fast she got off the horse, but he also noticed that she had done it elegantly. He walked forward, but as the girl lashed out at the night, and the painful growl-scream left her, he felt his heart react to her pain. He frowned as she shook and glared at the sky, tears cascading down her cheeks. When he was close enough, the horse turned to him. The vampire stopped, unsure if she would do something, but she just stepped back and nodded. Kuran took that as a go, and he took the rest of the needed steps to get to her.

Zero jumped when strong arms wrapped around her gently and securely. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized the scent of the vampire. Zero held her breath as her eyes snapped open.

For a reason, Kaname felt complete having her in his arms, knowing she was there, feeling her warmth against him. The Pureblood was looking at the ground when she froze in his arms. His eyes closed, and he pulled her closer to him, inhaling her scent as he brushed his nose over her locks, covering her ear and neck. He felt her shiver and lean into his warmth.

Zero closed her eyes as the tears slowed down; her heart was beating as fast as it could as he overpowered any emotion she had beside her love for him. His presence filled her heart and soul, her body relaxed at his touch, and her mind went blank as he almost nuzzled her sensitive discovered neck. A big strong hand snaked around her thin waist, and an arm across her chest soothed her away. The male smiled and opened his eyes as her labored breathing slowed down, and her tensed body melted against his.

His heart slowly started to respond to the girl in his arms, he felt his breath shake, and his body noticed she fit perfectly against his. The tears dropping on his arm fell slower each passing second until they stopped completely; the salt in the air slowly vanished and just left the moisture scent. He didn't want to speak, afraid this... atmosphere... they had created would disappear and hate would return to both.

Zero slowly turned her head, she felt how he loosen his grip a bit, enough for her to look at him, and her eyes locked with his. She didn't question anything, didn't open her mouth, she just stared at him with her giant, innocent orbs. Kaname frowned as his eyes landed on the drying tear trails; slowly and delicately, he turned her around so he could wipe them better. His heart stopped for a second before it was asked to start beating once more as she closed her eyes to let him wipe her cheeks. She sighed as his warm fingers brushed against her fair skin lightly. When he cupped her cheek, she opened her irritated eyes.

Her lovely gems were starting to puff a bit, and red was coloring her lower lids. Kaname brushed his thumb on her cheekbone and tightened his arm around her waist. Zero had placed her hands on his chest, hoping it would hide her speeding heart, but everything seemed pointless as he brought her closer to him. The two vampires gazed at each other for a long moment, both studying their eyes for anything negative. The Kiryu was the first to notice how close they had come to be, and so she was unable to blush a bit.

Kaname ran through a million possibilities of this situation's outcome in a second, and the results always came out the same. He looked down at the slightly parted full, rosy lips, and he came to his decision. If she didn't like it, let it be, but he would get what he wanted even if something terrible were to happen.

Zero had watched the eyes she secretly loved gain a hunger she had never seen before. She had to inhale with her mouth to keep from losing her mind, and then Kaname’s eyes fell upon her lips. When the Pureblood had looked back up at her, her heart and lungs stopped functioning.

The vampire Prince leaned down and captured her lips in a second. Her eyes widen, and she melted instantly. Her eyes closed slowly as her hands moved to circle his neck, one of them ran through his hair, and she moaned as his hand took rest at the back of her neck. His lips were just perfect on hers. They seemed to have been shaped to fit her own and only hers. The gentle and hungry lips kissing her were utterly different from Kaito's. These lips tasted so much better, and the scent mixing with hers complemented one another.

Kaname deepened the kiss as her soft lips kissed him back, her beautiful lips were devoured by his, and he was proud of it. The slender body against him was shaped perfectly against his. Everything fit in place. The small and shaking hands only encouraged his boldness more, so much more. He licked her lower lip, begging she would understand his plead. He wasted no time after she parted her lips hesitantly; his tongue entered her warm carven and found hers.

A deep sound came from his chest, and her mewled died against his hungry mouth.

Zero was starting to feel lightheaded, her knees were already weak, and she was holding on to him for dear life. The brunet finally set her lips free and gave their lungs the freedom to breathe some air. They rested their foreheads against each other, neither opening their eyes, for both wanted to keep that feeling longer. When warm brown-red eyes opened, they met the most beautiful thing ever. Kaname pulled his head up and watched as beautiful lilac eyes opened.

The pale face of the girl looked amazing with the rosy flush on her cheeks. Her hair shone under the moonlight, and the bruised lips were a healthy red. Her dazed eyes only made her more beautiful at the moment; he let his eyes soften as he imprinted her expression in his mind. Zero was awed by the handsome features of the vampire holding her. The scarce gentle look he had was breathtaking, and her heart fell deeper into its love for him.

She was drowning in her love for him, and she didn't care if they had just shared a kiss like two lovers that had been since long separated. She only cared that that moment was perfect for her, and no matter what happened next, she would cherish it dearly.

Kaname swore that even if things went downhill in a second, he would favor this memory for eternity. He watched her calmly before her eyes widened, and darkness started to shade the light in them. The young vampire huntress slowly closed her eyes, "Kaname," she whispered before her body went limp against him.

The Pureblood panic, "Zero!" he said, holding her in place; her head fell against his chest, and he looked at her alarmed. The breathing calmed him down, but her unconscious state unnerved him.

She just seemed to be sleeping, though the deep and steady breathing told him it wasn't that. It's like she had been pulled into a forgotten memory, or as if she were to have a low case of blood problem. Kaname frowned and bent slightly to pull her up from the back of her knees. He blinked and looked down at her clam and still flushed face at the weight she had. He knew even Yuuki was heavier, but Zero was taller. Why was she so light? He narrowed his eyes and walked forward. When the horse crossed his path, he glared at it.

Lily stomped her foot down, she snorted angrily and moved her tail to the side aggressively. The vampire glared at her, but she wouldn't back down. He sighed, "What?" he asked, and she nodded up and turned around. The brunet guessed that meant 'Follow me,' so he did. The horse went back to the stable and entered her compartment; she pointed at the bag on the floor and allowed some room over the straw. Kaname blinked. He went in and knelt -Zero still in his arms- and opened the bag. His eyes widened when he saw the two blankets and her uniform in there. There was only one reason why she had brought those items with her.

The vampire frowned, he didn't want to leave her here, but if those had been her wishes... he sighed as he pulled one of the blankets out and put it on top of the pile of straw. He placed the silverette down and pulled the other out, placing it on top of her. After that, he got up and took the horse's gear and put it back in place to let her rest. The horse slowly went to the opposite side of Zero's corner and lay down to sleep. Kaname sighed and moved close to the girl. He pulled the blanket over him and hugged her close to him.

The sweet scent she had soothed him into a deep sleep, and like that, the stable was quiet for the rest of the night.

When Kaname woke up, it was still dark outside; he looked at the girl in his arms. The perfect vision he had of her made him melt into a warmth he distantly remembered. A taste of heat he somehow missed, and it scared him. Her messy silver hair hugging her pale face, the soft health blush she had over her cheeks, and the full lips calling to him. He tensed as his eyes widened; he kissed her.

He had kissed her! The person he hated and despised most! He had shown tenderness he wouldn't even give Yuuki, and he would like to do it again.

Kaname closed his eyes and rested his forehead on top of hers, inhaling the scent deeply that he not only admitted he loved, but that comforted him. He opened his eyes and caressed the soft skin; he traced the jawline and her cheekbone with his long fingers. The girl sighed contently and nuzzled closer to the warmth he provided, "What are you doing to me?" he asked in a gentle whisper.

He furrowed his brows and clenched his jaw; he looked away from the precious sight he had the chance to see and looked at the awake horse. Lily snorted softly and nodded to him as if trying to tell him she was essential to him and that he needed her. If not now, then later.

The Pureblood glared at the horse, but she only shook her head and looked away. The vampire looked down at the frowning girl; she seemed almost to be pouting to him. His eyes softened, and he leaned down. He brushed his lips with hers before fully pressing them together. A spark of fire was lit in the depths of his heart, his soul called, and he grabbed her hand. He pulled away and kissed the small and soft hand gently, "Zero," he whispered and smiled at how her name rolled in his tongue. He wanted to be the only one to be able to say it.

The vampire got up and left without a sound.

Zero opened her eyes slowly; she sat up and rubbed her eyes from sleep. She looked around and saw the horse getting up, she put her hand on the not too long ago occupied spot. She froze, and blood rush to her face. She looked down and noticed that that spot had been used by a bigger body than hers. She breathed deeply, not sure what to make of this. Not only had Kaname kissed her, but he had stayed with her. Her trembling hand touched her lips gently, the other trying to hold her beating heart and not do anything she would later dislike.

Zero just shook her head and got up, "Morning Lily," she greeted happily, voice light and warm. The horse walked up to Zero and started to nuzzle her back as the vampire began to fold the blankets. She smiled, "I'll brush you in a second. Just let me get this," she told her, picking up the first blanket.

The horse neighed lightly and snorted as she moved to pick up the second blanket off the ground. The Kiryu looked at her blankly, but she laughed and finished folding the first blanket a second later. The horse handed her the second one.

When everything was packed, she started to brush the horse for a few minutes and gave her some food. When she was done, it was already time to go to school, but she required a shower, and she really didn’t want to hurry to school.

She walked all the way, calmly, not caring about time or class, and took a long hot shower. When she was finally ready for class, it was almost the end of the first period. She walked yawning towards the classroom. The teacher glared at her, “Kiryu! You’re late _again,_ ” he said, but the girl only sat down and got her things out. She was in an excellent mood, and for the rest of school hours, she just listened and wrote down some notes.


End file.
